


Not From This Anger

by belial



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, First Kiss, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-02
Updated: 2012-08-02
Packaged: 2017-11-11 07:09:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 40,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/475925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belial/pseuds/belial
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s 2010 at John F. Kennedy high school in Honolulu.   School, football, growing up,  and new student transfers make life interesting for a motley group of teens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not From This Anger

**Author's Note:**

> Dedication: First of all, a HUGE thank you to my beta [ gunslingaaahhh](http://gunslingaaahhh.livejournal.com/), who kept me on track, helped fix my idiot mistakes, and made all of this possible. Thank you baby! MWAH! And also for [ chicagolinegrl](http://chicagolinegrl.livejournal.com/) because she’s a dirty, filthy instigator and I might love her for it. *grins*
> 
> Disclaimer: This is completely FALSE. I own nothing. CBS owns Danny and Steve, though I wish I could say they were mine. *sighs*
> 
> Notes: High School! This story is completely and totally alternate universe, which allows me to let Steve and Mary have parents, Grace become a ‘sister-not-daughter’, and the Hesse’s as losers instead of killers. Viewpoint changes with the chapters. It’s pretty easy to keep up. These are various snippets linked together to show how Steve and Danny’s lives twine into one. The ages of all characters has been tweaked so that they are between 15-18 years old – though the ‘focus’ characters are 16 or older. So yes, this deals with somewhat underaged sex. Also? Themes in this story include homophobia, abuse, anger issues, slight D/s, and typical high-school drama. If any of this could potentially bother you, run now.

_…And bear those tendril hands I touch across  
The agonized, two seas.  
Behind my head a square of sky sags over  
The circular smile tossed from lover to lover  
And the golden ball spins out of the skies;  
Not from this anger after  
Refusal struck like a bell under water…  
~Dylan Thomas_

** Chapter 1 **

“You’re not going to _believe_ what Kono told me,” is how his sister greets him, when she sits next to him at the lunch table. Steve arches an eyebrow at her and slaps her hand away from his fries.

“Do we know each other?” he asks, disinterested. “Don’t you have anywhere else to be, freshman? Other than here?”

He stifles a smile at her irritated huff, but the moment of victory sours when she pinches the shit out of his arm. “Jesus, Mary…”

“…and Joseph,” she finishes. “Don’t pull that ‘I’m a junior and therefore too good to talk to you bullshit’ at me or I’ll tell Mom about your extracurricular activities last Friday night. The ones in the garage with…”

“Okay, okay,” Steve waves a hand, ignoring the way the rest of his friends lean in to hear Mary’s supposed dirt. He doesn’t need everyone else to know he swiped his dad’s whiskey while customizing the Marquis with a better stereo system. “What do you want?”

“There’s a new kid starting today,” she says. “A hoale from New Jersey.”

“Yeah, I heard. And I care because?”

She sighs. “Steven. Did you hear _why_ he’s here? Or who his family is?”

“Nope. And I don’t really care. Besides, when did I turn into one of your girlfriends that you could gossip with?”

“You’re such a dork,” she replies, and bats her eyes at Chin. “Chin, you want to hear, don’t you?”

“Uh… sure?” 

“Supposedly he got expelled from his last high school for getting into a fight with one of the assistant principals. Like, a fist fight! And he’s living with his aunt and uncle, who just happen to be Frank and Emma di Pietro. Those di Pietros,” she adds, as if the di Pietros need additional introduction.

Steve winces. The entire island knows about Frank’s drinking problem, his quick-fisted temper. Maybe Steve hears more than most, since his dad’s a cop. “That’s his aunt and uncle? That’s fucked up.”

“I know. Can you imagine living with them? That’s gotta suck. But he got shipped out here to ‘straighten up’, from what Kono tells me.”

“How is it you and my cuz know all this?” Chin asks.

“Because she was in the principal’s office and overheard a conversation between a couple of the secretaries there. Not that she was in trouble,” Mary amends. “She was delivering a message from Mrs. Lawson.”

Chin’s frown flattens. “As long as she wasn’t in trouble.”

“Nope.”

Steve listens half-heartedly to the rest of the conversation. He’s dealt with Frank di Pietro too many times not to wonder what kind of ‘straightening’ the man could do, short of putting a person in the hospital. The local mechanic of the island, Frank would do good business with anyone. But from what Jack McGarrett said, he’d do bad business, too. The illegal kind. “What’s his name?”

“The new kid? Daniel, I think. He’s… oh, hey, he just walked in,” Mary finishes, pointing in the least-subtle way possible.

Steve knocks her hand down and turns to look, trying not to be obvious. The guy’s short, stocky but in good shape, all shoulders and slim hips. A white tee shirt clings to his body, tucked into tight-fitting jeans and a black leather belt with metal studs. A black leather cuff is affixed to his left wrist and he wears black motorcycle boots. His blond hair slicks away from his forehead thanks to an overabundance of gel. And while he has the face of a cherub, the scowl seriously kills the image.

“He’s totally hot,” Mary says, and Steve forces himself not to nod in agreement. “I mean, wow.”

“Mary, you aren’t trying to make me jealous, are you?”

She glances away from Danny and gives Victor a saucy grin and a wink. “No, of course not,” she says, and blows him a kiss. “Never.”

Steve shoots a glare down the table at his teammate. “Stay away from my sister, Hesse.”

“It’s all in good fun,” Victor says. He tosses a fry at Steve’s head, adding, “Relax.”

“Friday night game, brah,” Chin says, breaking the sudden tension at the table. “Oahu Prep, think we can take them?”

Steve turns his attention back to football, looks away from the blonde on the other side of the room. He’s not sure how to feel about the new student, whether he should like the guy or not. 

He gets a firsthand introduction to the new guy – Daniel – his next period, in English. The blonde slips into the room, sitting into an empty seat in the back of the class. “No, Mr. Williams,” Mr. Neale says. “In my class, we have assigned seats. You’ll be sitting… here.”

Neale gestures a bony finger toward a chair in the front of the room; ironically, it’s the chair directly in front of his desk. Steve wonders for a moment whether it’s really the alphabetically-ordered seating chart that puts Williams in the front, or his reputation for punching a teacher that has Neale keeping a close eye on him. Whatever it is, the blonde grunts and gets up. He doesn’t go more than a step or two when he trips and half-sprawls into Steve. “Fuck,” he snaps, picking himself up and turning to glare at Victor’s brother, Anton. “You got a fucking problem with me, asshole?”

Daniel may be small, but he’s built to fight and from the glare on his face, Anton suddenly looks more nervous than aggressive. But before either boy can react, Neale’s shouting, “Mr. Williams! To the principal’s office, now!”

“I didn’t start…”

“Now.”

Neale’s tone brooks no argument, and the boy snarls, “Whatever. Gonna be like this all fucking year, huh?”

“Your choice of language is unacceptable for my classroom, Mr. Williams,” Neale replies. 

Daniel grabs his books and a worn knapsack and storms from the room, slamming the door behind him. Neale sighs, taking off his glasses so he can properly glare at Anton. “Mr. Hesse, if you don’t mind, please refrain from antagonizing the other students?”

“It was an accident,” Anton lies, an angelic smile on his face. “He tripped over my bag, is all.”

Neale doesn’t look like he believes Anton and Steve doesn’t blame him; Anton’s not exactly a saint. As Steve shifts in his chair, he notices a bound journal by his feet. It’s not his; he picks it up and slips it into his bag, then sits back for the rest of English.

He doesn’t think about the journal again till he gets home from school, after football practice; shoes and socks and laundry stashed in his hamper and he pulls his books out of his sack to study. Because contrary to the world’s general view of athletes, Steve is not a dumb jock. “Dad? I’m gonna go do my homework,” he calls as he runs up the stairs. 

“Your mother made you a plate!”

“I’ll eat later,” Steve shouts back. “I have a history test tomorrow.”

Jack McGarrett pokes his head into Steve’s room, a warm smile gracing his face. “Are you sure you wouldn’t want to break for dinner, son? Your mother made pineapple-glazed meatloaf…”

Steve’s mouth waters at the idea of Vivian McGarrett’s meatloaf. “That’s my favorite,” he mumbles. 

“With mashed potatoes and peas…” the elder McGarrett tempts. “Come on, Stevie boy. You’re not going to be able to study on an empty stomach, are you?”

Steve ends up downstairs for a late meal, talking to his dad. “We’ve got a new kid in school, and…”

“You mean Daniel Williams?”

Steve blinks. “How did you know that?”

“Because I’m your father,” Jack replies, cuffing Steve lightly. “And your principal and I are friends, and the Williams boy has a juvie record.”

“He does?”

Jack nods. “I don’t want you hanging around that boy. Some things you’re going to have to trust your dad on. And this conversation stays between us, okay kiddo?”

“Sure, dad. But can I ask… what he did? Is this because he punched a teacher?”

“Now how do you know that?”

“It’s the rumor around school.”

Jack smiles. “You never can keep anything secret on this island, can you. Well, that’s part of it. He did community service in Jersey, but he’s got a lot of disciplinary letters in his school file. You’re a good boy and you don’t need your reputation damaged. Not if you’re going to get into college, and not if you’re going to be able to play ball.”

“I understand,” Steve says, thinking about the journal upstairs. “I guess he’s not really one of the guys I’d hang around with, anyway.”

They change the subject to football, the Friday game; once Steven finishes his dinner, he heads back upstairs, plugging his ears against the pop music emanating from Mary’s room. “Hey! Turn that crap off, I have to study.”

“Pfft! Loser…”

Steve rolls his eyes but continues to his room, slamming the door behind him. It doesn’t drown out all the noise, so he grabs a flashlight and his books and opens the window. He shimmies down the convenient palm tree outside and flops onto the lanai. With flashlight in one hand and journal in the other, he begins to read, shocked to find the slim volume’s actually… a diary?

**Chapter 2**

Danny winces, lowers himself gingerly to his bed and sits. The belt marks on his back and ass throb in tandem with his heartbeat and it’s all he can do not to scream. 

His uncle hadn’t even listened to his side of the story before the beating started. Just the same as his dad always did. At least one of the two bastards was out of his life.

A knock sounds on his door and he says, “Yeah?” 

“Danny?”

“What,” he says, sullen. 

“Danny, you’re going to have to stop fighting with…”

“But I didn’t!” he shouts. “One of the other students tripped me and I didn’t start anything with him! I was doing what the teacher said, I didn’t talk back, it wasn’t my fault, God damn it!”

The woman crosses herself; Danny groans. “M’sorry, Aunt Em.”

“Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. And if the other boys provoke you, then you should turn the other cheek to them. Your uncle and I are trying to help you straighten your life around, and this is the thanks we get? Sent home after half a day in your first day at a new school?”

Danny closes his eyes and rubs at his face. “Why do I even bother trying to explain anything?” he asks, not expecting an answer. “You don’t even believe me. Your advice doesn’t help. I want to go home.”

“If you go home, you’ll fall back in with that crowd again. The ones who led you down the path of the Devil… the ones who allowed you perversions of the flesh…”

“Gay isn’t a perversion, Aunt Emma,” Danny says flatly. “It’s not an infection and I’m not some sort of freak. And Frank beating the shit out of me isn’t going to somehow change the fact that I like to suck dick.”

She crosses herself again, cringes like the wrath of God’s going to fall down upon her by proxy. “Daniel!”

He shoots to his feet, ignoring the agony it causes him, and straightens out his shirt. Grabbing his knapsack off the floor, he pushes past her. “I’m going for a ride,” he announces. “I’ll be back late.”

“Danny, you can’t…”

“Don’t worry. If you’re lucky, I’ll take a turn too fast and break my neck. And if I make it back, you can always let Frank handle me.”

He stomps out the side door, past his sleeping – passed out, more likely – uncle, and heads for the garage. He grabs the keys off the interior wall for the motorcycle, tosses a leg over the machine, and starts it – ignoring how the engine vibrates against each of the welts on his thighs and ass. He’d fought the bigger man as long as he could’ve, but still the belt caught a few good licks before Danny could escape. 

He rockets the bike into the darkness, familiar with the machinery and loving the smell of the metal and gasoline. Memories of Jersey, of _Vince_ , of his friends and his baby sister Gracie and the days when his mother loved him flash in his mind as he lets the bike out, jumping on the H1 and heading west toward Iroquois Point. 

When he reaches a turnoff, he takes it, driving the bike toward the sand and water. He kills the engine and slides from the bike; though it’s dark, the moon and stars give enough light that he can see. Danny shuffles through his knapsack and finds a bottle of his uncle’s vodka, walks down to the shoreline and smells in the ocean. He sits carefully so not to aggravate his welts and sips the alcohol, listening to the rush of waves dancing on the sand. When he closes his eyes, he can almost picture the boardwalk in Atlantic City – the smell of curly fries and salt tangy air and Vince’s cologne in his nose.

_Of Vince with him in his room, his mother still at work, Gracie at a friend’s house. Of stolen kisses turning into petting turning into Vince inside him, over him, encompassing his smaller body until he didn’t know where the older boy stopped and he began…_

“Biondino?”

Italian spilling between them, native and secret, Vincent calling him ‘little blonde’ and Danny’s blush, a too-tough street boy from a broken home who had the nerve to fall in love with the shy and brilliant upperclassman. Of days hiding in an empty classroom, between periods, Vincent writing him poetry in a small journal that they passed back and forth, leaving each other love notes, at a time when Danny knew no one else would ever love him like the older boy…

Of Mr. Capelli walking in on them, his eyes following Danny around for days and weeks afterwards, of finally pinning the stocky sophomore to a wall in the science lab and shoving a hand down his pants… 

Of his mother’s horrified disbelief, of swinging back at Capelli the next time he tried to touch Danny’s dick, when no one was around to defend him from the assistant principal. And two weeks after his community service concluded his mother had shipped him out to Hawaii without feeling, telling him the night before, not even giving him time to say goodbye to Vincent …

Danny opens his eyes, tears spilling hot down his cheeks. He digs through his bag to find the journal, to find the photos in it of Vincent and the little ones of Grace, one of the few things he was allowed to bring with him other than two suitcases of clothes and a heart full of pain.

He digs through the bag, finally giving up and emptying the contents onto the sand. The air leaves his lungs in a rush and he chokes on a sob as he realizes, “Where is it?”

Scrambling now, yanking at the fabric because “I never took it out, it’s gotta be here, it’s gotta be here because that’s all I have, it’s all I have and…”

His journal’s gone.

Danny falls to his knees, bawling like a child, the last shreds of himself stripped away and bare and raw. Agony grasps icy tentacles into his chest, squeezes until he curls in the sand, the tide coming in to drench his school books and backpack and body. “Fuck it,” he says, wiping his eyes. “Just fuck it all to hell.”

He fades in and out of consciousness, cold and wet and drowsy, body shivering. Wishing he had more to drink so he wouldn’t hurt so badly. He drifts away in his mind until a hand touches his arm and a gruff, “Son?” spills into the early morning air around him.

Danny gasps and sits straight up, scrambling backward into the shallows. “Don’t touch me!” he shouts, painful memories of Capelli fresh in his memory. “Don’t fucking touch me, you fucking…”

“Hold on there!” the voice snaps, grabbing for him again. A man in a rumpled suit stands over him and he shrinks a little, fear overriding attitude. “Easy, son, easy. I’m a detective and I’m not going to hurt you. Are you all right?”

It’s a cop; of course it is, because luck’s never on his side. “Fine,” he mutters. “You scared the shit out of me.”

The man frowns, asks, “Is that your bike?”

“My uncle’s.”

“Did you know it’s illegal to park along the sand here, because the sea oats are protected? Did you know it’s illegal to sleep on the beach?”

Danny shakes his head, wiggles free of the bigger man’s grasp but makes no attempt to escape. “I didn’t know. I’m new around here.”

“That doesn’t allow you to break the law.”

“I didn’t know,” he says. “I swear.”

“What’s your name?”

Danny winces. “Williams. Danny Williams.”

The cop’s head snaps up, and grey eyes examine him more closely than he’s comfortable with. “Frank’s nephew?”

Oh, fuck. The cops know him here, too? “Yeah.”

“You should be in school right now,” the man says seriously. And Danny would laugh in the guy’s face if he wasn’t a little terrified of being hauled in to whatever passed for jail in Hawaii. “You’re a junior, right?”

“Right. How do you know about me?”

“You go to school with my son, Steve. I’m Jack McGarrett.”

McGarrett. Steve McGarrett. Fuck. The jock’s father is a detective? “Quarterback prom-king McGarrett?”

The detective looks shocked for a moment and then laughs. “Yes,” he replies, dryly. “I take it my son’s reputation precedes him as well.”

Danny ducks his head and doesn’t respond. McGarrett takes pity on him, says, “Come on. We’ll put your bike in my truck and I’ll take you home.”

“No!” the word’s out more sharply than he intends, and the man didn’t make detective by being an idiot. He focuses on Danny’s face, and Danny says, “I’ll drive myself back to Emma and Frank’s. I didn’t mean to fall asleep out here.” 

“Sorry, son, it doesn’t work that way,” McGarrett says. “I technically should be taking you to juvenile detention for breaking the law; the least I’m going to do is make sure you get home.”

Danny locks his jaw but nods, knowing he isn’t going to win this one. He follows the man slowly, climbs into the truck when ordered, and waits for his uncle to skin him alive for disappearing the night before. 

Not that it matters anymore. 

**Chapter 3**

_History tests are easy and school is a fucking bore sometimes,_ Steve thinks, as he eats his ham sandwich. He looks down the table at his friends – Chin’s talking to Malia, Victor’s flirting with Mary and he grinds his teeth – but he realizes that at the end of next year, all of this will end and he’ll be ready for the next challenge.

Steve is all about challenges. God knows his sexuality is challenging enough, but he’s beaten that too. So far.

“You okay, brah?”

He nods at Chin, swallows his food and gathers his books. “Gonna go try to do some of my homework so I don’t have to finish it after practice,” he says. “Man, can’t wait for Friday.”

Chin waves him off and as he leaves, his eyes light upon an unfamiliar yet interesting blonde head. He fidgets for a minute before dropping into the open chair across from the new guy. “Hey.”

Blue eyes like Hawaii’s morning sky latch onto him, accentuated by the same blue-colored tee shirt. Only the dark ring around one eye mars the fact that he’s handsome. “You’re Daniel, right?” 

The blonde gives him a suspicious look. “Yeah. Danny.”

Steve nods, digs into his knapsack. “You dropped this yesterday. In English.”

Steve’s the kind of guy who prides himself on great observational skills; he needs them as a quarterback, but they come in handy during non-game situations. He drinks in the sight of widening eyes, the way the other boy practically leaps across the table to snatch the journal from his hand, a wide, beautiful smile flashing as he says, “Fuck me sideways, you had this?”

Not exactly the words of gratitude he expected, but Steve goes with it. “Yeah, I don’t speak Italian, though, so you don’t have to worry about me snooping in your shit.” 

But Danny ignores him, flips through the pages muttering, “Come on, come on, be there…”

Until he freezes, fingers reverently touching the pictures of a tall blonde boy with thick black glasses and a petite brunette with a giant smile. Danny’s eyes droop closed, hands balling into fists. “Thank you,” he whispers, so softly Steve almost misses it. “Thank you, God…”

“Uh… you can call me Steve?” Steve tries, wanting that same smile again. “If you want? God seems awfully formal.”

Danny blinks at him, scowls, and says, “You’re funny. Really. I can hardly stand it.”

With that, he shoves himself to his feet and grabs for his bag. As he moves away from the table, Steve gapes. Steve’s on his feet before he knows it, following the other boy outside into the hall. “Hey!”

Danny stops and turns. “What?”

“That’s it?”

“What do you want, a standing ovation?” he snaps.

“Jesus, try to do something nice for you, and…”

“I don’t need you to be nice to me, McGarrett,” the other boy spits back. “Not you, not your dad, not anyone in your entire fucking family. You got it?”

“…When did you meet my dad?” 

Steve blinks as the other boy freezes, mouth half-open in comical fashion. And then Steve uses his powers of observation again, noticing the dark ring around Danny’s eye. The fact that his shirt’s a little looser than the day before. That he’s limping as he moves. “Did you get into a fight with someone? Is that how you met my dad?”

“Fuck you,” the blonde says, defensive. “You a cop like your daddy? Just stay the fuck away from me.”

The boy stomps off, leaving Steve to stare after him in confusion. Danny pointedly ignores him in English and before Steve knows it, the day is over and he’s driving the Marquis home. He bounds into the house and into the garage, gracing his mother with a quick hello and flipping Mary the bird as he passes just to piss her off. “Dad?”

“Hmm?” His father picks his head up from the assembly directions in his lap. “You gonna help me put together this cabinet, Stevie?”

“Uh… actually, I wanted to ask you something. Did you meet Danny Williams?”

Jack puts the instructions down and gives Steve a fiercely protective look. “Did he say something to you?”

“Sort of. Not bad, though, it was weird.” Steve gives his father a brief version of their conversation. “I didn’t know why he looked so upset that I gave him back his journal till he told me to stay away and keep my family away.”

Jack frowns. “I found him asleep on the beach this morning, motorcycle parked on the side of the road, an empty bottle of booze at his feet.”

“That’s illegal!” Steve protests, and his father smiles at him. “Did he try to fight you or something?”

“Why do you assume he was in a fight?”

“He had a black eye, is all,” Steve says. “Why?”

“Nothing, nothing,” his father replies. “Just asking. He had this black eye at lunch?”

“Yeah, Dad. At lunch.”

“And you didn’t hear anything about him getting into a fight with any of your classmates.”

“No, cause he woulda been sent home.”

“Hmm.”

Steve tips his head to the side, studies his father’s face. “Hmm, what?”

“You’re a clever kid, you know that? Maybe one day, if you decide not to play ball or run the country, maybe you could make a good detective like your old man.”

“Learned from the best,” Steve replies. They grin at each other and without further prompting, Steve clamors to his dad’s side and picks up the schematic for the cabinet. “Whoa. How do you read this?”

“I have no idea,” Jack confesses. “Don’t tell your mother. Just hand me that hammer and we’ll figure it out.”

“Dad, do you remember when you said that about the dryer, and all of Mom’s clothes were…”

“Stevie, it’s not going to be like the dryer. Now hand me my tools.”

They stay in the garage until Vivian comes to get them past midnight, scolding both of them for being ‘up too late on a school night’. Steve slinks up the stairs, properly shamed, but feels better because his dad’s in the doghouse, too. **Chapter 4**

He doesn’t pay attention when the phone rings; it’s never for him, anyway. Six weeks without talking to Grace, and he feels more isolated and alone then ever in his entire life. It’s Friday evening and he doesn’t have anywhere to be but in his room.

So when Frank walks in without knocking, throws the cordless at his head and says, “It’s your sister”, Danny doesn’t remember how to breathe.

“Gracie?”

“Danno?”

And he sucks in a harsh breath so he doesn’t start crying in her ear. “Gracie, baby, are you okay? What’s the matter?”

“Nothing!” she exclaims. “Vince bought one of those calling-card things from Walgreens so we could call you. It’s Saturday here, Danno, we stayed up late so Mom would go to work and Vince could come over without her being weird about it. We don’t have long to talk, though.”

“We?”

“Hello, Biondino,” a deep voice says, and Danny does drop the phone this time.

“Vincent?” he asks, when he scrambles to get it back to his ear. “Is that you?”

“Grace and I have our heads squished together so we can hear you,” Vince says, and Danny’s heart races. “We miss you.”

“I miss you guys, too.”

“Danno, Vince said he needed to talk to you, but I called ‘cause I knew Uncle Frank would probably hang up on Vince. I love you, okay? But I’m gonna step away for a little bit.”

“Gracie?”

“She’ll be back on in a minute, Danny,” Vince says, and Danny closes his eyes. He can picture everything about Vince; the way his eyes light up when he says Danny’s name, a pet name, the way he smiles…

“I miss you so much,” Danny confesses to the older boy. “I miss everything.”

“I know, me too. But Danny? I have… I have to tell you something. Before you tell me about Hawaii.”

“What is it?”

Vince takes a deep breath. “I’ve been… I was accepted. Shit, this is so hard to tell you. I got into M.I.T. And they want… they want me to go to ABB Research Ltd. for my schooling, so I can have hands on experience working on the superconducting fault limiters.”

“Genius,” Danny teases. “Wow, that’s amazing. I’m so proud of you, and…”

“ABB is in Switzerland.”

And like that, the breath punches out of his lungs. He gasps, struggles to find the words, and says, “So, we talk on occasion and… and I can get an email account, one of those free online ones, because I can log on at the public library and…”

“Danny,” the other boy breaks in softly. “Danny, it’ll be at least four years before I come back to the US, do you understand that? It’s not fair to you to ask you to wait for me.”

“Fuck fair!” Danny yells, clutching the phone between trembling fingers. “Fuck fair, you don’t have to ask me because I’ll wait, I’ll goddamn wait till I’m a hundred, V, please, fuck, I love you, please don’t do it, don’t do it, I’ll wait, I promise, it’s only four years and I’ll be an adult by then, I’ll be back in Jersey or maybe I could even go with you. Please, don’t do this to me? I can’t – not with everything else, please. I just need… I love you!”

His voice gives out on him and in that moment of silence, Danny catches the sob through the phone. He knows Vince; knows that Vince is brilliant and sensitive and _writes him poetry_ because Vince loves him that much. “You’re going to break up with me,” he says, quietly, because he can’t stand to hear the boy he loves cry. “You’ve already decided, haven’t you.”

“Jesus, Danny, I love you. More than my whole life, and if you told me to come to Hawaii I’d give up the school and everything else, just tell me to come and I’ll be there.”

Danny hesitates, just for a minute, selfishly wanting to tell the other boy _yes, give up your life for me, I love you, I need you_. But he steels himself for the hurt, the agony, and lets Vince off the hook instead. “I can’t tell you to do that, V. You’re so fucking smart and gorgeous and you gotta go do stuff to save the world. I won’t be what holds you back.”

Vince chokes on the other end of the phone. “You mean it?”

Danny wonders why sometimes he wasn’t born the older one, and Vince the younger one. Because sex? Vince had that down pat, but everything else? Danny was the ‘grown up’. Maybe it was because he’d practically been Grace’s dad since he was five. “I promise, I mean it. But you’d better keep an eye on Grace for me till you leave, okay? I need…” and he chokes here, the tears threatening to spill over, “need you to keep an eye on my Mom and Gracie for me till you go. So I know they’re safe. Please?”

“Yeah. Yeah, Danny, of course, of course I will, I love you. I’ll never stop loving you, you know that, right? You’re the first boy I ever fell in love with…”

Danny can’t control the tears when Vince switches to Italian, babbling in his ear till they’re both crying; it’s only when Grace gets back on the phone does he know he’ll probably never talk to Vincent again. “Gracie?”

“Hey, Danno,” she says, his sister, his rock, the person in his heart that he can always depend on to be his daughter and his sister and his mother at the same time. “I’m sorry.”

Because Danny couldn’t hide shit from Grace, and Grace grew up too fast, too soon, already understood what ‘homosexual’ was by the time she was twelve because of Danny. “S’okay, not your fault.”

“I know, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about it,” she coos in his ear. “Love you, big brother. I know I’m not gonna help much, but you want to talk to me? Tell me anything? How’s Frank and Emma treating you?”

He almost snorts into the phone, but he can’t make her worry. “You know, adults,” he scoffs. “They don’t… they don’t approve of me, but they’re taking care of me, making sure I have everything I need and stuff. It’s fine.”

“Good,” she says. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

And they talk awhile longer, until he can’t lie to her anymore about his new life and his new home and trying to act like his heart isn’t breaking. “Gracie, you sound tired, and I don’t want you to use up all those calling minutes right away. I wanna be able to talk to you again soon, so let’s hang up now, okay?”

“Yeah,” she yawns. “Love you. And I’m sorry.”

He shuts the phone off without a reply but doesn’t move from where he’s curled on the bed. He lays there a long time, waiting to feel anything, but he doesn’t feel anything but numb.

He gets up, brings the phone back into the main part of the house, and says to Emma, “Going for a walk, Aunt Em.”

“The hell you are,” Frank interrupts, growling at him. “I told you you’re not leaving the house, boy. After Jack McGarrett had to pick you up on the side of the road, drunk, after staying out all night? You’re lucky I let you have that phone call with your sister. But I couldn’t punish Grace for your failings.”

Danny looks at Emma as though he hadn’t heard his uncle speak. “I’ll be back later,” he says, turning from the room.

He isn’t prepared for Frank to fly from his chair, grab him by the back of his neck, and shove him to the living room floor. He stumbles to his knees and Frank backhands him. “You will obey me! Did you not hear what I just said?”

With that, he draws his foot back and delivers a heavy kick to Danny’s ribs. “You will listen to me, by God, you stupid little queer! Or I swear to you, I’ll have you tossed into the juvenile detention center until you’re old enough to live on your own!”

“Frank!” Emma exclaims. She grabs her husband’s arm as he kicks at Danny again and again. “Frank, that’s enough!”

Frank steps back, anger still seeping from his body, and spits on his nephew’s still form. “Get up, faggot. I hate that I had to take you into my home so you could spread your filth here, your damnable disease, but I had to get you away from the rest of ‘em like you. Didn’t want you ruining my sister’s life, or Grace’s.”

Danny doesn’t move, forces himself to breathe through his nose so he doesn’t scream in agony. “Fuck you,” he says, voice dull and lifeless. “Just, fuck you. You want to fucking kill me, Frank? Then finish it. Go on, finish it. I don’t really give a fuck anymore.”

The man steps forward but Emma moves between them. “It’s enough for tonight,” she says. “Danny’s been disrespectful and you’ve punished him for it. Enough.”

Frank lumbers away, still muttering under his breath, and Danny sits up slowly. He fixes Emma with a hateful glare. “Shoulda let him finish it.”

“God doesn’t abide murder or suicide, young man,” she says. “And neither do I.”

She helps him to his feet and takes him to the bathroom, where she bandages his cheek from the backhand; she brings him an icepack for his ribs and leaves him in his room.

And if she doesn’t notice him slipping out the window after an hour or two, it’s really not his fault.

**Chapter 5**

The game runs later than they expect; they leave heroes, Steve and Chin and Victor who make a late play and score the final touchdown to bring Kennedy a win over Franklin High. Steve drives his dad’s Marquis home, Chin in the passenger seat, Kono in the back. Mary’s decided to go home with the Hesse’s and Patty Jameson, Anton’s girlfriend. He still doesn’t like Victor and his sister’s ‘sort-of relationship’, but as he doesn’t consider himself the relationship expert, he leaves it alone. _Maybe I’ll mention something to dad tomorrow,_ he muses, so his dad will tell his mom and his mom can talk to her.

**_“LOOK OUT!”_** Kono shrieks.

Steve slams on the brakes, lightning-fast reflexes the only thing that keeps him from hitting the animal lying in the road. It’s too big to be a possum or raccoon, too small to be a horse. “What the hell?!?”

“That looked like a person!” Kono says, half-crawling over the seat to look out the side window. “It _is_ a person! Steven, I think someone’s dead in the road back there!”

Steve pushes open his car door at the same time he sees Chin dialing 9-1-1. “Kono, stay in the car. Chin, give her your phone, come with me.”

The cousins listen to him – God knows why – and he steps into the night air, heading back the dozen feet to where the body lay facedown. Steve feels the blood leave his face in a rush as he realizes who it is passed out in the middle of the street. He’d know that beautiful blonde mop anywhere. “Danny?”

“Danny?” Chin repeats, raising an eyebrow at him. “You mean Williams?”

Steve kneels next to the blonde, taps him on the shoulder. “Danny? Are you… are you all right?”

Nothing. Steve shakes him, a little harder, and is rewarded with a moan of pain. “Stop shakin’ me,” Danny slurs. 

Steve rolls the boy onto his back and almost vomits at the sight. Danny’s shirt rides up around his chest, exposing violently-colored bruises in the shape of footprints. His face, which had a black eye not so long ago, is covered with blood and a handprint blooming over the pale skin. “Fuck,” Chin mutters from behind Steve’s shoulder. “Brah, what do you think happened to him?”

“I… I don’t know. Can you see if Kono’s gotten hold of anyone? I think we need an ambulance.”

“NO!” 

The two football players jump at the pained noise. “Please, no. No cops, no doc… doctors. No.”

“Danny, you’re a mess,” Steve says, petting the other boy’s hair in an effort to keep him calm. “You need to go to the hospital.”

“Can’t.”

“Why not?”

Danny doesn’t look at Chin, doesn’t move. “Can’t tell why, can’t tell, no one’ll b’lieve Frank would...”

He sags; Chin looks at Steve, confused, and Steve decides for all of them. “Okay, Danny, here’s what we’re going to do. Wrap your arms around my neck and I’ll help you up, we’ll get in my car and I’ll take you home.”

“No…”

“To my house,” Steve adds. It’s starting to make some sense in his mind, if not to anyone else, from what he’s heard about the di Pietros from his father. From Danny’s constant bruises. “Come on, Danny, work with me here.”

With some effort, Steve and Chin manage to get Danny to his feet, and they hustle the blonde back to the car. “Kono, can you call 9-1-1 back and tell them we handled it? Or that is was, I don’t know, driftwood or something.”

“Driftwood?” Kono looks at him suspiciously, doubtful. “Steve, he’s bleeding all over the backseat. All over me.”

“Kono, please, just trust me. You know I’d never do anything to get you into trouble.”

“Hmmph,” she says, but she calls the emergency operator back and claims to have ‘false-alarmed’ them accidentally. “I’m so sorry, ma’am,” she says. “It really did look like a person, we were so worried…”

She charms her way out of danger, as always. Steve gets back into the car, leaving her to wrap an arm around Danny’s shoulders and keep him upright, and he floors the car, hoping it holds together long enough to get them to his house. “Steve?”

“Huh?”

“Why’re you doing this for him?”

He winces a little at Kono’s question. “Always curious, Kono,” he teases, trying to inflect lightness into his tone. “Maybe you should’ve been the cop’s kid and not me.”

She smiles at him and leaves it alone; but he knows the cousins too well, knows they see more than he wants them to, more than anyone wants them to. There’s an interest, he knows they want to know why he cares about the troubled boy, and so he gives them a bone to deflect them. “Frank’s a drunk, you know that, right?” 

“Yeah.” 

“My dad says he’s not always on the right side of the law. I don’t… I’m worried this might be some kind of retribution or something. Danny’s scared to go home, scared to have people find him. You know?”

“Holy… wow,” Kono says, eyes widening. “Seriously? You think someone beat him up on purpose?” 

“Yeah,” Steve says. “I want to take him to my house, my dad’ll know what to do.” 

“Okay, you can count on us,” she says.

Steve wants to hug them both, but concentrates on the road instead. It’s a cruel thing he’s done, in a way – given the cousins Danny’s troubles to think about, instead of letting them think he has ulterior motives. Because as bruised as Danny is, he’s still the most beautiful thing Steve’s ever seen, and that in itself should scare the hell out of both of them.

They pull into his driveway fifteen minutes later, and Kono’s the first one out of the car. She hurries up to the front door and knocks hard, and Jack opens the door for her. Steve can’t hear what they’re saying, but suddenly his father’s standing next to him, helping him get the blonde out of the car. When Danny struggles, both McGarretts have to hold him tightly. “Easy, son,” Jack says, tightening his grasp on the flailing boy. “Come on, let’s get you inside. Stevie, we’ll put him on the couch.” 

“He can have my bed, it’s more comfortable.”

Jack fixes his son with a curious look and Steve ignores it, prays to whatever god listening that his cheeks don’t flush. “He’ll stay on the couch. He’ll never make the stairs like this.”

“Oh, right,” Steve says, and curses his own lack of sense. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Come on, into the house.”

Steve tosses his keys to Chin. “Take Kono home,” he says. “I’ll get my car tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?”

Steve nods and leaves the cousins to find their own way home. Steve would trust Chin with his life, the car doesn’t even filter in as an afterthought. He turns his attention back to the bruised body in his arms, and between he and his father, they wrangle Danny into the house. Vivian’s there when they get inside, her robe tightly wrapped around her and she gasps at the marks on Danny’s face. “Dear God,” she says, and hurries into the kitchen. “The poor boy.” 

“Mom, he’s bruised everywhere, he’s gonna need icepacks.” 

Danny slumps to the sofa when they put him down, barely clinging to consciousness, and Steve sits next to him. “Stevie,” Jack says. 

He swallows hard. “Yeah?” 

“What happened?” 

“I think… I think his uncle beat him up. He was mumbling when we picked him up, didn’t want us to call the police or an ambulance, was afraid to go home.” 

“Or maybe he was afraid Frank would find out what he’d been up to. You ever think of that?” 

Steve flinches, shakes his head no. Could he really be so far in over his head with the other boy, that he got played? “Dad, I don’t think he’s conscious enough to lie to me like that.” 

“Hmm. We’ll see what the morning brings.” 

Steve nods, sits on the floor next to Danny’s body. His mother comes in bearing ice and peroxide and he helps her clean the blonde up. When they peel off his shirt, even his dad looks a little green. “Whatever the circumstances, someone did a number on him,” Jack acquiesces. 

“I’ll stay with him awhile, make sure he’s okay.” 

The older McGarrett nods. “All right. Not too late now, even though tomorrow’s Saturday. 

“No, sir.” 

He resettles the ice around Danny, listens to his mother’s instructions about how long to leave the ice on, when to take it off, and Steve nods until she kisses his forehead and leaves. His dad watches him a minute or two longer, then treks up the stairs after his mother. He moves from the floor to the couch, watching Danny’s face for signs of waking. “You’ll be okay, Danny,” he promises, stroking the unconscious boy’s forehead. 

The motion causes the blonde to shift, groan, and reach a hand up to him. “Vincent?” 

Steve’s breath locks in his chest. “What?” he croaks. 

“Vincent,” Danny repeats. His voice drops into a pleading whine. “Please don’t leave me. I love you, please don’t leave me here all alone. I can’t do this without you.” 

Steve’s jaw sags; it couldn’t be, could it? It isn’t that whatever gods listening could be playing a joke on him. “Danny, it’s Steve,” he starts, but his sentence is cut off when Danny rolls over. He drops his head onto Steve’s thigh, curling a hand around Steve’s kneecap, and sighs. “Love you, V.” 

Steve gives up, strokes a hand through the other boy’s matted hair, shushing him. “I’m right here for you,” he says, loving the way Danny curls his smaller body closer to Steve’s. “I won’t leave you, I’m right here with you.”

When the blonde makes a pleased sound, Steve knows he’s done the right thing.

**Chapter 6**

Every muscle in his body aches; his cheek throbs in time with his heartbeat. But for some reason, it feels like his body’s floating in a sea of warmth, strong waves cradling and buffeting him, and he snuggles deeper into the feeling, squirms to get more of the contact of it. Wherever he is, some part of him knows that he’s safe. 

A sharp intake of breath makes him pause. He opens one eye, blinks, and opens the other for good measure. And then he forces himself up on his elbows in an effort to get away even though it sends shockwaves of pain through his body. “What the hell?”

“Hi,” the brunette says. 

He blinks some more, because he has to be dreaming. He’s dreaming that he’s wrapped in the arms of the school’s football hero, dreaming that the boy from his English class is sprawled beneath him and that he’s drooled on McGarrett’s chest all night long. “Wow, Danny. Your hair’s something scary in the morning.”

The comment is so unexpected that he wheezes a laugh and then groans. “Oh, fuck,” he says, collapsing back down. “Don’t make me laugh, ass.” 

“Sorry.” 

He doesn’t sound sorry at all and Danny glares at him. “What the fuck am I doing here? Where am I?”

“Found you last night, passed out on the side of the road. Brought you to my house.”

“Fuck,” Danny says. “McGarrett, I swear to God.”

“It’s Steve.”

“What?”

“Steve. My name’s Steve. I know you can say it, it’s not a hard name to pronounce.”

“You’re not my friend, McGarrett,” Danny snipes. “I don’t need friends like you.”

“You probably should’ve thought about that before you crawled on top of me last night and latched onto me like an octopus.”

Danny feels his face grow hot and he ducks his gaze, embarrassed. He spoons in his sleep. Fuck. “Must’ve thought you were someone else,” he says. 

“Vince?”

He jerks back, the pain in his body temporarily ignored. “What?” 

“You called me Vince,” McGarrett replies. “And then you crawled on top of me. And stayed there all night long.”

“You… you fucking son of a bitch, you gonna tell everyone now that, what, I’m fucking queer or something and…” 

McGarrett reaches a hand out and clamps it over Danny’s mouth, careful not to touch any of his bruises. “Would you fucking relax?” he snaps. “Jesus, I don’t care, Danny. I don’t care about that at all. And I won’t tell anyone. I’m more concerned that you were laying in the road unconscious and I almost ran you over with my car.” 

Danny forces himself into a standing position, looks for the nearest door and takes a step toward it. But after three paces, he trembles. “Shit.” 

Steve catches him before his knees go out, half-carries him back to the couch. “Shh,” he says. “Look, my parents are still asleep, they don’t know we’re up yet, so please? Whisper. Tell me what happened?”

“Why do you care?”

“I just do,” Steve hisses. “God, do you really think so little of yourself, that you can’t take someone’s help at face value? Do you really think I’m trying to screw you?” 

A poor choice of words, but accurate. Danny cringes into one corner of the sofa, curling into the armrest and panting. The bruise on his ribs glows with the morning sunlight and he licks his lips. “I don’t know,” he says, honestly. “I don’t know you or anything about you.”

“You know my dad’s a cop. You know we’re in English together. You know most people don’t hate me, right? I mean, that’s got to count for something.”

Danny licks his lips again and Steve follows the movement, cocks his head to one side. “Thirsty?”

When Danny nods, the other boy gets up and pads into the kitchen. He comes back with a yellowish glass of juice. “What is that?”

“Pineapple juice. Full of natural sugar, it should help make you feel better. My mom says so, anyway,” McGarrett finishes, grinning a little. “I can get you water if you want?”

Danny nods, but holds his hand out for the pineapple juice. It’s too sweet and so he holds his breath while he swallows it down. “Nasty shit,” he says, but he feels better after he drinks it. Accepting the second glass, he sips the water. “Thank you.”

“Welcome.”

They stare at each other. Finally, Danny says, “So why did you bring me to your house?”

“You didn’t want to go home. Or the hospital,” Steve says. “How do you feel?”

“Like ass.”

Steve nods. “I wouldn’t expect anything else. Someone really beat the shit out of you.”

“Yeah.”

Steve scoots further into Danny’s personal space, but brings his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around them so he doesn’t look as threatening. Danny doesn’t know if this is planned or not, but tenses anyway. He tenses more when Steve asks, “You wanna talk about it?”

“No.”

“You know my dad wants to talk to you.”

Danny winces. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Danny, you got the shit kicked out of you, of course he’s going to want to talk to you and ask you what happened.”

He glances around the room for his shirt, but before he can get up, the larger boy blocks his path. “What’re you doing?”

“Looking for my shirt, so I can go.”

“You can’t… you can’t just leave!” 

“Why the fuck not?”

“So this is it? Someone asks you a question and you run?”

“It’s not a bad plan,” Danny says, getting up so the other boy doesn’t tower over him quite so much. “Besides, no one gives a fuck about what really happened anyway, McGarrett.”

“I told you, my name is Steve!”

Somehow, it’s the last straw; Danny can see the fire flash in McGarrett’s eyes, and he’s not fast enough to sidestep McGarrett’s body as it moves toward him. He tenses for the hit, flinching, and is no way expecting the jock to grab him by the shoulders and kiss him.

A thousand feelings slam into him at once: fear, hope, shame, want, anger, and a healthy dose of lust. Confusion, most of all, at way the seemingly-straight prom king licks his way into Danny’s mouth.

Most confusing, the way Danny allows it.

“Stop,” he finally says, when he gets his brains untangled from his balls. “Steve, stop, what the fuck…”

The smile he gets is blinding, huge, with a goofy, lopsided twist. “Hey. You called me Steve.”

“You… I… McGarrett, what the fuck’s the matter with you? Keep your tongue to yourself, what the fuck do I look like to you, some sort of…”

Steve - _McGarrett_ , he reminds himself vehemently – grins and leans into him again. “Liar,” he says. 

“I have a boyfriend,” Danny protests, throwing up his hands to ward the other boy off. “I’m… I’m only interested in redheads. I only have one working testicle. Get the fuck back, I swear to God I’ll punch you in the nuts.”

Danny’s amazed at the way Steve… McGarrett… oh, fuck it, Steve stops. The taller boy crosses his arms over his chest and glares Danny down. “So, this Vincent, he someone you know back in New Jersey?”

Danny nods.

“Your boyfriend. So you two are serious.”

“What the fuck business is it of yours?”

“It’s not,” Steve replies, voice cheerful. “But it’s useful to know, so I know how best to get you to choose me instead.”

Danny gapes at him. “What?”

“Did I not make myself clear?”

“I…” 

Steve sticks two fingers into his mouth and blows air around them; the noise is so sharp it makes Danny’s already-pounding head implode. “Oh, my God,” he moans, but Steve’s already bounding up the stairs.

“Dad! Mom! Danny’s awake… what’s for breakfast?”

When Steve returns, he’s holding a toothbrush still in its original packaging and a white tee-shirt with the logo of the United States Navy on it. “Here,” he says, thrusting the shirt into Danny’s hands. “This belongs to my dad, it’s really soft. You can have it.”

Danny takes the garment, lifts his arms to pull it over his head and whimpers at the pressure it puts on his ribs. Before he can say anything, Steve’s there, carefully guiding the fabric over his limbs and helping him into the shirt. “There, you okay?”

“Yeah,” Danny replies, nodding. “Thanks.”

“Come into the kitchen and I’ll get you some Tylenol. You can have another juice while we wait for my parents to come downstairs.”

“Your sister isn’t here?”

“She stayed over at Patty’s. So one less McGarrett for you to deal with. That should make you feel better, right?”

Danny blushes, cursing his fair skin. “Shut up.”

Steve grins at him, puts a hand on his shoulder and gently pets him. “You’re gonna have to get used to me, Danny. I’m not planning on letting you out of my sights anytime soon.”

“Fuck my life.”

**Chapter 7**

His mom makes them French toast with orange marmalade and bacon and it’s another one of his favorites. Danny, he notices, falls upon it like he hasn’t seen food in weeks. “There’s more,” Steve offers to the other boy.

Danny freezes, the half-chewed bite in his mouth. “Sorry,” he says, and glances down at the table top. “This is really good. I don’t normally get breakfast from Emma.” 

Steve sees the look his parents share; he feels kind of awful about it himself. No breakfast? “That kinda sucks.” 

Danny puts his fork down and shrinks into himself. He doesn’t say anything, hardly breathes, and Jack stops Steve from putting his foot further into his mouth. “Danny…I was going to wait till after we ate to talk to you, but since we’re here, maybe you could tell us what happened to you last night? What were you doing out on the road that late on the side of a highway?”

The blonde fidgets in his chair, drawing his left hand to his mouth and touching the scab on his lip. “I’d gone for a walk. Must’ve… must’ve fallen or something.” 

“Fallen,” Jack repeats, disbelief evident. “Son, I’m sorry, you’re going to have to do better than that.”

Danny looks at Steve and Steve frowns at him. “You may as well just tell him. I kinda know, Danny, just from looking at you and what you said to me in the street last night. You were terrified to go home.”

“Because I’m gonna be the one you’ll believe,” Danny shoots back, glaring at him. “Because it won’t come down to my word versus theirs and everyone’s going to believe me and not Frank. Why did you have to open your stupid big mouth, McGarrett, you could’ve just…”

“That’s enough,” Jack says. Steve shudders because his dad’s using his ‘cop-tone, Steven James what did you do’ voice. “Frank did this to you, Danny?”

“Like you’d believe me if I said yes!”

“I’d believe you if you told me the truth, young man, and I don’t think I’ve gotten a straight answer from you yet. I’m not trying to hurt you, Danny,” Jack says, dropping the steel from his voice. “I’m trying to help you. But you have to let me, in order for me to do so.”

The room quiets; Danny watches Jack’s face, turns to look at Vivian’s and finally at… oh, at Steve, and Steve gives him what he hopes is a caring smile. “C’mon, just tell him what you said to me.”

“I don’t remember what I said to you,” Danny says. “I don’t even remember you finding me. Was tired and I’d just been…”

He stops; Vivian stands up and moves next to him, places a gentle hand on his shoulder. “How about some more French toast, sweetheart, and then maybe you can tell us after breakfast? Or maybe you want to talk to Jack privately, without Stevie and me around? Would that make you feel more comfortable?”

Steven wants to protest at the idea of being left out; as it is, he makes a grunt and it catches Danny’s attention. They make eye contact, and Steve does his best not to blink first under the pointed blue gaze. Slowly, a delicious smile curves Danny’s cheeks. He says, “It’s gonna kill you not to know, isn’t it.”

“This is about you, Danny, and whatever makes you feel okay to talk to my dad. Even if you want to leave me out of it, I don’t care, I just… I just don’t want anyone hurting you, is all. That’s not cool.”

Danny’s still staring at him and Steven can feel his cheeks heat up and damn it, damn it. He’s going to have to figure out how to control his reactions to Danny, except Danny’s saying, “You really feel that way, don’t you.”

“Of course!” Steve protests. “I’m not gonna spread it around school or anything, I’m not that big an asshole!”

“Steven James McGarrett,” Vivian admonishes, and Steve positively withers under her glare. “What have I told you about bringing that salty language into the house?”

“You told me it should stay in the garage with dad and anywhere else you can’t hear it?” Steven knows he’s blushing now, slithers deeper into his seat. “Sorry Mom, but it’s true, I’m not that big an asshole.”

She clicks her tongue and shakes her head at him, and he gives her his best pleading puppy expression. It makes her smile even though she’s annoyed so he counts it as a win. “Sorry, Mom.”

“Hmmph. Danny, did you want more French toast? Try to ignore my son, he hasn’t any manners it seems.”

“Hey!”

Danny grins. “Well, Mrs. McGarrett, I would love a second serving. Thank you, ma’am.”

“Suck up,” Steve grumbles, hating the way his mother ruffles Danny’s hair because damn it, Danny’s hair should be _his_ to ruffle and not anyone else’s. 

“All right, be right back with a second plate for you. Now, maybe you wanted to talk to Jack while I get this? Do you want Stevie to come help me?”

“Moo-oom, stop calling me Stevie, I’m _seventeen_ …”

“You are?” Danny asks, and looks surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Steve replies, “aren’t you?”

Danny shakes his head no. “Sixteen. Started school early. And no, you don’t have to leave, McGarrett, you’d only bug me to death about it later, right?”

“Well…”

“Yeah, thought so,” Danny replies. He closes his eyes and rubs a hand over his face. “Yes, it was Frank who hit me.”

“Has he done it before?” Jack asks.

“Yeah. He doesn’t like me or approve of me.”

“Because of the trouble you got in back home?”

Vivian returns, places another plate of food in front of Danny and Danny stares at it for long seconds. “Yeah, because of that, too.”

Jack arches an eyebrow but doesn’t comment. “Do you want to tell me the whole story?”

“Um… no? I was talking to my sister Grace, and wanted to go for a walk, and when I tried to leave anyway he hit me because supposedly I was grounded for the last time you and I met.”

“You mean, when I caught you passed out on the beach.”

“Yeah, then.” It’s Danny’s turn to look uncomfortable. “It’s not the first time someone’s… people think cause I’m not tall that I won’t fight back, but I’m not going to just take it.”

“Is that what happened in New Jersey?” The question falls out of Steve’s mouth before he can stop it and he groans. “You know what, never mind. I shouldn’t have asked that.”

Danny doesn’t acknowledge the question, just shoves another bite of food into his mouth. “You gonna call Frank and Emma and tell ‘em to come get me or something?”

“I think we’ll bring you home. I’ll talk to Frank for you, if you don’t want to file a charge.”

“I can’t file charges. Even if I wanted to, which I don’t.”

“Why not?” this time, Steve doesn’t regret asking. “That’s stupid, you should’ve, I don’t know, called the cops or something, and not just run off. That’s what the police are for, to protect people.”

“Where the fuck am I supposed to go, genius?” Danny’s on his feet and shouting. “Do you have some sort of plan? And what happens if I call the cops, huh? They come out, get one look at my record and believe Frank? So then I can go to school and get even more popular, right, because you’re the only fucking person who even looks at me like I’m alive, or maybe – just maybe – the cops can call my mom and Gracie and make them worry about me, make Grace worry about me more than she does already and fuck her up even worse and…”

He all but collapses, sobbing. “Fuck, it would’ve been so much easier if I just wasn’t around any of them. I wish I could just disappear, McGarrett, don’t you get that?” 

Steve doesn’t recall moving from the chair, but suddenly he’s wrapped around the smaller boy and hugging him. “Hey, hey, none of that. I‘m sorry, I guess I didn’t think. I’m sorry, Danny, I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

He doesn’t release Danny and after a moment, Danny tenses and forcibly pulls away. Runny nosed and red eyed, he sits back in his seat. “Not your fault my life’s a fucking mess.”

“I wasn’t helping.”

Danny rubs the leather bracelet on his wrist, doesn’t look at either of them. “Sorry for the bother last night,” he says, voice small and tired and defeated. “You can just call them to get me, you don’t have to say or do anything. It’s not… it’s not like it’s got anything to do with you or anything.”

“Not the way I work, son,” Jack says. “I can’t take you home in good conscience, if what you’re saying is true. I’ll talk to Frank and we’ll find a way to fix this.”

“Dad?”

“Yes?”

“Um… the loft?”

Steve knows that Jack will know what he’s talking about: the small attic of the house, a loft that’s already got a twin bed and Steve’s childhood furniture, before he shot up and outgrew it all. It had been Steve’s crash pad as a kid, when his friends had stayed the night, and he hopes he’s made himself clear, that Danny could just as easily move into Steve’s old space. That Danny would be safe there, because Steve would protect him. 

“Maybe you boys should go get showers and get dressed so we can take Danny home,” Jack says, neither confirming nor denying Steve’s suggestion. 

Steve tries hard not to pout. “Come on, Danny, let me get you a towel and you can hit the shower. You can even go first.”

“Afterwards, I’ll patch you up again, all right?” Vivian says. 

Danny nods shakily. “Yes, Mrs. McGarrett.”

Steve gets Danny a towel and sets him up in the bathroom. When he returns to the living room, his dad’s waiting for him. “Sit down, Stevie.”

Steve sits on the couch next to his dad and waits; Jack studies him carefully. “Steven, you know there’s nothing you could ever say or do to disappoint me, don’t you? Nothing that could happen to make me love you any less?”

Steve gapes, confused. “Uh, thanks?” 

Jack nods. “And we’re friends, right? Buddies? Tight together till the last man?”

“Yeah, Dad, of course, but what…”

“So why haven’t you told me before that you’re interested in boys?”

Steve feels all the color drain from his face and the room spins. “Wh… what?” he croaks. Then he silently curses himself for not denying it. “Dad! I don’t know why you’d say that, it’s not true, it’s…”

Jack puts his hands on Steve’s shoulders. “It’s okay, kiddo,” he soothes. “I wasn’t sure of it till I saw you last night. You dated Catherine for awhile, but the first person you ever wanted to take to bed was Danny. And this morning? Offering the loft, as though you just want him to move in? Make sure you’re not confusing a crush with sympathy. And make sure you protect your heart from this one, until you know whether or not he’s playing games. I can’t tell you if he’s a bad kid or not, even though something in my gut thinks he’s telling the truth. I can’t tell you not to be who you’re going to be, but I won’t ever let someone hurt you if I can help it. Okay?”

Steve slides from the couch and sits down on the carpet, stretching his legs out so he doesn’t tremble. “So… you knew? I mean… um, but… you knew? How’d you… why’d you…?”

“I’d wondered for awhile, but I’ve been watching you fall apart around him, and your protective streak kicks into overdrive. Does he know?”

Steve dies a little inside. “He fell asleep on top of me last night. On the couch! I mean, nothing… we didn’t… aww, man,” he says, and blushes. “Dad, this is weird.” 

Jack laughs. “Try it from my side. Just be careful with your heart; I know you give it freely and honestly, because you’re a good man. But be careful who you give it to, because not everyone’s worthy of it. Promise me.” 

“I promise. No giving my love to someone who isn’t worth it.” Steve scratches the back of his head. “Can we not talk about this anymore, please?“

“Okay, but remember, you’re my son. You can ask me anything. Even if you need condoms, or…”

“Dad!” Steve scrambles to his feet. “I need to… uh… go and be anywhere but here, so I’ll see you in a little while, oh my God.”

He disappears up the stairs still muttering, and misses the blinding smile on his father’s face.

**Chapter 8**

Vivian had kissed his cheek before he’d gotten in the backseat of Jack McGarrett’s truck cab, and he keeps touching the spot where her lips met his skin. Did he even remember the last time someone had touched him with such kindness?

Other than Steve, who didn’t know how to keep his stupid lips to himself. Fucking asshole.

“We’re here.”

Danny winces and drags himself from the truck, follows the McGarretts up the front walk to Frank and Emma’s house. He takes a moment to glare at the structure, as though it is the faded paint and grubby landscaping at fault for the miserable people inside. He takes the key from his pocket but Jack says, “No, we’re not just walking in. We’re going to knock.”

“But I live here!”

Jack’s frown tells Danny all he needs to know. He sticks his keys back in his pocket and sighs. “All right, all right. Fine.”

Jack raps his knuckles on the front door and no one answers; he knocks again. They wait once Jack hears movement from inside the house, and finally, the door cracks open. “Jack? What are you doing here?”

“Morning, Emma,” Jack says, and smiles warmly at her. “Are you missing something?”

“Not that I know of, why?”

“Steve ran into Danny last night.”

She peers out the door and her eyes rest on Danny. “Oh, Daniel,” she sighs. “You didn’t run away again, did you?”

“ **Run away?** **Again?** Are you fucking kidding me, what do you mean again?” Before Danny can say more, though, Steve shushes him with a hand over his mouth. Danny settles for glaring but for some reason doesn’t move away from the larger boy. He bites Steve’s palm out of spite, smiling a little when Steve yanks his hand back.

Emma smiles. “I’m afraid Frank chastised Daniel last night. I’m so sorry he put you out. Come inside, Daniel, you’ve imposed on the McGarretts enough.”

“A moment, please. Would it be possible for me to talk to Frank while I’m here?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, he had a long day yesterday and he’s under the weather this morning. Maybe some other time?”

“It’s pretty important that I talk to him today. Now. You see, Danny’s got some unusual bruising and I’d like to discuss it with Frank.”

“You know how boys are. They’re rough with each other, and Daniel’s no exception to horseplay with the other kids, or getting into disagreements.”

“Let me in, Emma,” Jack says, and he uses a tone that makes others obey. Danny’s mouth drops open at the sight of his aunt being ordered around by Jack McGarrett. “Let’s not stand out here and keep discussing this when we could talk inside? I wouldn’t want to have to start waving my badge around.”

She opens the door, frowning, and gestures them in. Danny walks in ahead of everyone else, walks into the living room before anyone else gets into the door, and hears, “About time you got back, you little queer!”

Danny hears Emma yell Frank’s name as he jumps to the side; it isn’t fast enough to get away from the man’s grasp. Frank shoves him into a wall and Danny sees stars, feels lightning pain strike along his already-bruised body. “You fucking faggot, you disappear in the middle of the night and I’ll show you what…”

Frank’s weight jerks off of him abruptly and he sinks to the floor with a gasp. Everything hurts but he forces himself to look up, to see why Frank released him. 

He’s shocked again when he sees Jack McGarrett pin his uncle to the living room floor, one hand twisting Frank’s arm behind his back. His uncle’s yelp of pain makes him realize that he’s not hallucinating and he watches in quiet amazement as Jack subdues the bigger man. 

“Now Frank, I’m sure that’s not the welcome home Danny was looking for,” Jack snarls. “Perhaps you should try again?”

“Jack, please!” Emma cries. “It’s just a misunderstanding, is all! I’m sure Frank and Daniel can work out their differences with a good conversation and an apology.” 

“I’m not apologizing for leaving,” Danny says, voice soft. “I’m not apologizing at all.”

“You shouldn’t have to apologize for anything,” Steve says, and sits next to him on the floor. Danny looks away from the bigger boy, torn between shame and embarrassment. But Steve doesn’t make him feel uncomfortable; he simply offers Danny a hand up and helps him to his feet. “You okay?”

“Sure.”

Danny turns his attention back to Frank, thrilled at the way his uncle can’t move out of the older McGarrett’s body-lock. “Danny, do you have a suitcase?” the older McGarrett asks.

He blinks. “What?”

“A suitcase, or a duffel bag, or boxes. I’m sure your aunt and uncle wouldn’t mind if you moved out of their house and into our loft. Would you, Frank?”

“Wait a minute, you can’t just take him from us and…”

“You’re right,” Jack says, interrupting Emma. “I don’t have to take Danny anywhere. I can call into the station and tell them that Frank’s fond of child abuse and have him arrested because I _witnessed it happening_. And that should be enough to get a warrant and go through the garage to see what else Frank may be doing, including all those side jobs for the Luy brothers. You’re right, that sound like a better idea to me, too.”

“Take the little piece of trash,” Frank snaps from under Jack’s weight. “Makes no difference to me, we didn’t want him in the first place.”

“B…but! I can’t just…”

The whole group gives its attention to Danny, who’s gone pale. He wraps his arms around himself and unconsciously steps closer to Steve. “I can’t just move in with you,” he murmurs. “What’ll I tell my sister? My ma? And this isn’t… not your problem. You shouldn’t have to…”

“I can’t leave you here, son,” Jack says, getting up and brushing himself off. “I can either take you with us, or I can take you to the HPD with me and get you settled into government custody until your mother can afford to have you flown back to New Jersey. It’s your choice.”

There’s a long silence before Danny says, “She doesn’t have the money.” And what he’s not saying is _I’m afraid, and I don’t want to become a ward of the state for months, waiting to go home because I’d be alone again_. 

“You can stay with us till she saves enough to get you home, then. You can stay at the same school and it’ll be okay.”

Danny nods, because he’s not sure what else to do. His mother had spent what little savings she had to get him to Hawaii in the first place, to the nearest thing they had as ‘family’. She wouldn’t be able to afford the trip back anytime in the future. “I can work,” he says, and chokes up as his throat closes. “I won’t… I won’t take pity, if you let me stay I’ll earn my keep, you shouldn’t…”

Jack steps forward and puts a gentle hand on Danny’s arm, says, “How about we figure all that out later, and right now, you take Stevie to your room and have him help you pack your things? Is there a lot? I have room in the truck, but if we need to make a second trip, we can.”

Danny shakes his head and says, “I only have three bags, mostly clothes. I’ll go get them.”

“Stevie, would you…”

“I’ll help him, Dad.”

Steve follows him down the hallway to the room Danny sleeps in, watches him pull two duffel bags from beneath the bed. He tosses one to Steve robotically, mumbling, “You wanna start in the closet?”

Steve nods, and when he heads to do as Danny asked, Danny gathers the rest of his meager belongings. It doesn’t take them more than fifteen minutes, Danny desperately trying to look anywhere but at Steve’s face as Steve shoves different items into the duffel. Danny packs the journal and his few photos last; as an afterthought, he plucks the tiny St. Christopher’s medallion from the dresser. Danny stares at it, weighs it in his palm. It had been a welcome gift from his aunt; God knows he’d need all the help he could get going forward. 

“Is that all?”

He blinks, turns his attention to the other boy. “What?”

Steve blushes and ducks his head and Danny thinks that he’s going to have to stop noticing the little twitches the other boy makes and stop finding it attractive. Steve, the jock-who-can’t-keep-his-lips-to-himself, also known as ‘He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named’. Voldemort with good intentions. Danny finds himself saying, “There’s not a lot I could bring with me from the mainland. Just, you know, jeans and stuff.”

Steve nods. Without warning, he pats Danny on the arm and says, “I promise you’ll like living in the loft. It’s pretty cool up there, you’ll have privacy and no one’ll bother you if you don’t want them to.”

“Yeah, but how do I avoid you?”

He doesn’t mean for it to sound as badly as it does; as hurt passes over Steve’s face, Danny realizes what he said. “Fuck. I didn’t mean it like that, exactly. I just… I don’t know what I’m doing here.”

“I don’t either, if it makes you feel any better.”

“Not really. You want to make me your pet project, remember?”

“If nothing else, maybe I could just be your friend. It wouldn’t kill you, you know.”

“I don’t know, McGarrett. Something tells me you’re going to be a danger to my mental health.”

“No idea what you’re talking about.”

“Uh huh.” Danny clenches his hand around the religious medal and sits on the edge of the bed; he doesn’t move away when Steve sits next to him, pressing their sides together.

“I would really like to be your friend.”

The request is hesitant, barely there, a brush of words that drifts along Danny’s skin and sticks to his chest, weighing on his heart. “You sure you don’t just want to fuck me?”

Steve’s breathing hitches; he bites his lip and turns away from Danny. “Not if you don’t want me to. I said I was going to try to win you over, but I’m not going to ever make you do anything you don’t want to do. That’s not who I am, no matter how much I…”

When Steve hesitates, Danny, asks, “How much what?”

“How much I may want you,” Steve whispers, cheeks flushed a deep red. “Fuck, Danny, do you have any idea how hot you are?”

It’s Danny’s turn to blush and he squirms away from the heat of Steve’s body. Standing up and brushing off his thighs like he could brush away Steve’s touch, he says, “Um, okay, that’s everything I own, so, okay, ready to go now…”

“Danny…”

Danny stops, spins on his heel, marches to the space between the other boy’s legs. He pushes Steve’s knees apart, leans down, and kisses him hard. Steve gasps, but Danny doesn’t stop, pushes his tongue into Steve’s mouth and bites at his bottom lip all at the same time. He kisses hard, hoping to scare the older boy off.

He never figures on Steve grabbing him, hauling him down into his lap, grabbing at his ass to grind their bodies together. He only has a second to think _Holy shit_ before Jack McGarrett’s yelling their names from the other room, forcing them to break apart.

“Coming, Dad!” Steve yells back, remarkably well-composed for someone with bruised lips and shaking breaths. “Almost done, be right there!”

They stare at each other for a minute. Danny forces himself not to look away first; fuck. When Vincent had first kissed him, it had been gentle, sweet, the meeting of the two of them into something wonderful. But McGarrett? Steve kisses with his whole body, his heart poured into it. Kisses like a porn star’s wet dream. “Fuck,” Danny says, voice unsteady. “What the fuck, McGarrett?”

“You kissed me,” Steve says, shrugging. Like that was a good enough reason for him to try to swallow Danny whole. “Why’d you kiss me?”

“No fucking clue,” Danny grumbles, and Steve grins, wide and goofy. “I don’t like you, you know. I don’t want any part of you, and I hate taking your pity.”

The grin fades. “It’s not pity. I’d have asked Mom and Dad to do it for anyone, if someone needed my help, because no one deserves your aunt and uncle. But seriously? Even if you won’t kiss me again, I still want to be your friend.”

“I’d believe you only wanted to be friends if you didn’t still have your hands on my ass.”

Steve moves his hands and lets Danny get up. “I have no idea how I’m supposed to explain me moving in with you to my Ma.”

“Have a little faith in me. And if you don’t have faith in me, then trust my dad to do the right thing, okay? Because he will.”

Danny swallows hard. Faith’s something he hasn’t had much of lately; trust is another stranger to him. His heart aches for his first love, and his sister, and home in Jersey, but something about Steve – this Voldemort in disguise – makes him want to have faith, makes him want to believe that everything will be okay.

“You promise?”

“I swear.”

Danny nods, slowly. He aches all over and even his brain hurts and maybe that’s what causes him to say, “Okay, McGarrett. You’ve got yourself a friend.”

**Chapter 9**

Steve watches the blonde boy move into the living room, still unsure of his future and everything going on. Jack sits on the sofa and explains the solution; a financial decision, he says, for the McGarretts to take Danny instead of mentioning anything else. Danny worries; Steve can see it in his face, somehow able to discern between Danny’s bullshit bravado and the frightened person beneath it. Like he’s known Danny all his life.

Like he can taste Danny in his mouth, feel that perfect ass in his hands.

Steve groans to himself: one small bite of the forbidden fruit, and he’s ready to sell his soul for another taste. Danny looks at him and Steve offers a smile in response. He tries not to throw a fist pump into the air when the blonde boy moves closer to him, and they stand shoulder to shoulder together. Metaphorically, anyway. Steve likes the fact that Danny is so much smaller than he is. It means he fits Steve’s body better. He’s always had a thing for people with a petite build – whether it’s girls or boys.

Frank’s on the phone with someone, voices low and polite, and Steve realizes that the person on the other end of the line is Danny’s mother. He leans his body into Danny’s and nudges him, and Danny swallows hard. “I don’t know how to do this, how to lie to my Ma like this.”

“Maybe to protect her, and protect yourself, too?”

Frank grunts at Danny, hands him the portable phone, and Steve watches the other boy chatter, a false sense of optimism pouring from his mouth. “No, Ma, I promise, I’m not in trouble.” And “He’s a good guy, we became friendly at school. No, I…”

A few more minutes, and then, “Can I talk to Grace?”

Danny’s whole expression changes the moment this Grace gets on the phone. “Hey, Monkey,” the blonde says, and grins for real. “Yeah, I’m moving. Nope, totally cool with it. Yeah.” Pause. “Yeah, I’ll call you soon. Danno loves you.”

Danny disconnects the phone, heaves out a sigh, and drops down on the sofa. “They bought it. Did you really tell my Ma that your business was in trouble?”

“She accepted it, didn’t she?” Frank growled. “What’s it to you?”

Danny ducks his head. “She said she’s going to start saving to buy me a ticket home, but it won’t be for another couple months. Probably… you know, closer to summer. Mr. McGarrett, are you sure…?”

“We’re sure, son. It’ll be okay. How about we get your bags in the truck and get you settled into your new space?”

Danny nods, his body on autopilot. Steve grabs for two of the duffels and steers the smaller boy out of the house, leading him to the truck and helping him put his bags into the back. “So did your mom take the news okay?”

Danny blinks. “Huh?” 

“Your mom? Is she okay?”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess. Your dad told her that Frank and Emma had come to him because they were experiencing some money problems with the auto shop,” Danny says. “And she believed him. Found out he was a detective, and she thought he’d be a good influence on me, or something. I don’t know, just… she didn’t sound mad, so. That was what I hoped for.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah.”

They stare at each other, and Steve knows it’s going to be up to him to direct the conversation for now. “So, what’s with the name Monkey?”

Danny smiles, his whole body relaxing as he replies, “Grace is three years younger than me. When she was little, she clung to me like a damn monkey. And it stuck.” 

“And Danno?”

“She couldn’t say my name. It’s just a thing between us. She’s thirteen now, too smart for her own damn good. A total pain in my butt.”

“You’re close,” Steve says. “No way you guys aren’t. Not like me and Mary, we fight all the time.”

Danny shrugs. “Didn’t have anyone else when we were little. Dad left and Ma worked. I took care of Grace most of the time, even when there were other things I could’ve done. It just happened that way.”

Jack emerges from the house, stopping their conversation. “Sorry for the delay, boys. I had a few things left to discuss with your aunt and uncle, and we can hit the road now.”

Steve doesn’t ask, but he knows his dad well enough to know that some sort of threatening/arguing went down. “Sure, Dad. I call shotgun!”

“Fucking figures,” Danny grumbles, but steps on the running board and shuffles into the back of the extended cab. “So, um. How exactly is this going to work?”

“What do you mean? You go to school, you keep yourself out of trouble, and you stop worrying about your uncle’s temper. That’s all you have to do, son,” Jack says, voice gentle. “And maybe at some point, we can talk about the rest. For now, though, relax. You’re still bruised up, and maybe it’ll be nice for you to not have to worry about being on your guard so much, hmm?”

“I…” and Danny loses his words for a moment, only to say, “I don’t know why you did this for me, but thank you.”

Steve twists in his seat, attempts to say something, but Jack shakes his head no. Steve swallows the question, sits silent till they get home. Vivian opens the door for them as they carry in Danny’s things. “Mary got home awhile ago,” she says, more to Jack than anything. “We’ve had a talk about how we might be getting a new member of the household.”

Jack nods; Steve wonders what his mom said to his sister, and if Mary was going to be nice or not. Probably not, but he knows a few things about his sister that might ensure her good behavior. He wonders whether or not blackmail should make him feel guilty and decides not to care. Especially as his gaze locks on the rumpled, beaten-down boy next to him. “Dad, can I show Danny the loft, get him set up?”

“Go ahead. Maybe you boys want to set up the space for Danny today? Make it a place of his own, go down to the beach and swim?”

“No chores?” Steve can hardly believe his ears. “Really?”

Jack smiles. “One day pass,” he says, and wags a finger at Steve. “You can do them next weekend.”

“Awesome!” Steve crows, and blushes when Danny snickers behind him. “Hey, don’t make fun of me. Next weekend you’re helping me mow the lawn.”

“You and what army gonna make me, McGarrett?” Danny asks, but he’s smiling and it takes the challenge out of the words. He waves his hands at Steve, shooing him. “Now come on, I want to go inside.”

The two boys grab Danny’s bags and Steve leads him into the house, up the stairs, and to the pull-down ladder that leads to the attic. “And, other than being an awesome hang out, you can get to the roof from here.”

Danny raises an eyebrow, but lets Steve climb the ladder and tosses his bags up one at a time. “I don’t think I’ll need to climb onto the roof.”

“I’ll show you some night,” Steve says, his voice muffled from the bags and the moving. He grins, excited to share another favorite thing of his with the other boy. “You can see the whole island. Pretty much the whole sky. It’s perfect, with the stars on the water and everything.”

“Huh.” 

“Come on up.” 

Danny climbs up, coughs once at the dust, and moves into the loft. His face brightens in surprise as he takes in the twin bed, the furniture, the spacious room. “It’ll do,” he says, and Steve laughs at him. “Okay, okay. Fine, it’s nice. It’s really nice, McGarrett.”

“Steve.”

Danny rolls his eyes and flops onto the twin bed, cringing at how loudly the mattress squeaks. “Jesus. You got any WD-40 that we can use on the frame?”

“Why, you gonna do something up here and worry about getting caught?”

As soon as it’s out of his mouth, Steve realizes what he’s said and he blushes to the tips of his ears. “Ah… not what I meant…”

Danny hides his face in the crook of his arm. “Yeah, about that.” 

“I meant it, Danny, friends if that’s…”

Danny holds up his hands and Steve stops talking. He tentatively sits on the foot of the bed, close enough to Danny that Danny has to bend his knees to give Steve more room. “Look, I… I don’t want you to think the worst of me, so. Uh. I didn’t mean to kiss you. It seemed like a good idea at the time. And, if you haven’t noticed, my life’s kinda fucked up. You’d probably be better off not thinking about me like that, you know?”

“And what if it’s too late, that I think about you like that?”

Danny blows out a breath. “Fuck, are you always so honest?” he complains. “Why can’t you be like everybody else and just tell me to fuck off or something? Why do you have to be so goddamn… just, why do you have to be so fucking nice to me?”

Steve reaches out and grabs Danny’s ankle, rubs his thumb along the bone gently. Like trying not to spook a horse – or, in Danny’s case, a wolverine. “Not the way I was raised? Besides, what good comes out of lying to people? I mean, I’m not gonna go out myself at school or anything, but I’m not going to lie to you.” 

“Why not? It would be easier that way.”

“Maybe I don’t want easy. Do you think we’re going to be easy, Danny?” 

“There is no ‘us’.”

“Because you have Vince, right? Because you don’t need me. You don’t need friends, you don’t need anyone except for what you left in New Jersey, right? Well, newsflash, you’re in Hawaii now, and you’re going to be here for the next eight months, so you might as well get used to it. You can’t be alone that whole time. Or do you hate me that much? You said you wanted to avoid me, but here you are, and you’re not avoiding me. So what is it? Honesty, please.”

“You want honesty?” Danny says. He snorts, says, “Honesty is that Vince broke up with me last night on the phone. Honesty is that my fucking heart hurts. Honesty is that I miss Grace and my Ma and everyone I left behind, and I miss having a place that’s my own, and I miss my friends, and I don’t want to get involved with you because you’re going to hurt me.”

Steve blinks. “What? I’m not!”

“Yes, you are, you and your goofball faces that you make,” Danny says. “You and your honesty. You and the whole everything fucking golden in your life. Vince is crazy brilliant, and he’s going to school and he left me behind because his life’s destined for something amazing, right? And you’re exactly the same. I’m tired of people leaving me. I’m tired of not being good enough, I’m tired of being knocked around and fucking looked down upon. I’m just tired.”

Steve doesn’t have an answer to that. His heart aches for Danny; not for want or lust or anything other than sorrow. “I can’t make promises for forever. But I’m here now. Everything that sucks about your life? I can’t fix it, but I can try to help you through it. Even the really shitty parts. And I won’t try to compete with the memory of Vince, but maybe you could give me a chance and rate me as how I am being Steve? Your friend. The one you jumped earlier.”

“I didn’t jump you!” 

Steve smirks. “You totally did. For someone who complains about not wanting to get involved with me, you had your tongue in my mouth.”

“Yeah, well, you grabbed my ass!”

“It’s a nice ass,” Steve says. He shrugs. “You could be African American.”

“You did _not_ just tell me I have a ghetto girl’s ass.”

“Might’ve.”

Danny sits up and Steve’s happy to see him grinning. “You suck.”

“I’ve never tried that before.”

Realization hits Danny and he groans. “You’re? You’ve never…?”

“With girls!” Steve protests. “I mean, I get the idea…”

“Jesus fuck, McGarrett.”

“Steve.”

Danny wraps a hand around Steve’s wrist and tugs the larger boy down so they’re laying face-to-face, scrunching together in the twin bed. “I was so determined not to like you. From the day I first met you, from the minute you handed me back my journal.”

“What changed your mind?”

“The fact that you’re determined as a Golden Retriever?”

Steve pulls a pissy face and Danny grins. “What? You’ve already determined we’re going to be friends, right. So this is me being friendly and teasing you.”

“Thanks.”

“Yep. So, you gonna help me unpack my crap and get all squared away in my new home?”

“Maybe. You might have to bribe me, though.”

“With what?”

Steve grins. “You’re doing the weeding next weekend.”

“Say what? Oh, hell no, fuck no, I’m not helping you with the lawn work, McGarrett, that’s…”

Steve leans in, presses his nose to Danny’s and nuzzles him. The tirade of words cuts off and the smaller boy practically purrs at the touch. “You don’t fight fair,” he mumbles.

“Probably not. So? Weeding?”

“Fine,” Danny huffs. “Why do I get the weeding?”

“Because you’re closer to the ground than I am.”

Steve’s unprepared for Danny to shove his ass off the bed, howling at the indignity until Danny laughs and says, “Good luck with that.”

A little bruise on the ego is worth the smile on Danny’s face. 

**Chapter 10**

He’s got a sandwich halfway to his mouth (Vivian McGarrett is a goddess to be worshipped because she made him bologna and cheese and packed him pickles) when they strike; sliding into the booth across from him, smiling like sharks. “Hi!”

He pauses. “Hi?”

The girl reaches across the table and holds out her hand. “I’m Kono. This is my cousin Chin. We’re friends of Steve’s.”

Danny nods and absolutely in no way moves to shake her hand back. “Danny.”

“So we’re eating lunch with you today,” she says, bulldozing onward though he shows no signs of caring. “Steve said…”

And Danny’s discreetly trying to slide out of the booth, only to be stopped when a solid body drops onto the seat next to him. “Where ya going, Danno?”

“First of all, don’t call me Danno,” Danny says, scooting back toward the wall as though the other boy has some sort of plague. “Secondly? Why are you people here?”

“Because you shouldn’t eat alone all the time,” Steve says. “And besides, we’ve got English together next period, and I was thinking it would be easier to compare homework here.”

Danny stares at him like he’s a pod-person. “English? You want to talk about homework at lunch? That’s horrible, McGarrett.”

“Nah, brah,” Chin says, and pulls a binder from his messenger bag. “It’s a great idea. C’mon, don’t think we don’t know.”

Danny freezes, but Chin says, “As much as Neale spends all his free time glaring at you, you get the best marks in the class. You’re either cheating somehow or you really get the stuff we’re reading.”

“So what? It’s Jock Tutoring 101?” His joke is funny until pointed shoes kick him under the table and he yelps. “Holy fuck, what the fuck was that?”

“Oops, sorry,” Kono says, not sorry at all. “I thought I saw a bug. Did I kick you?”

He rubs his shin and glares at her and she gives him a sweet smile. “Poor baby.”

Danny’s halfway tempted to mumble the word _bitch_ , but he thinks she’ll go for his balls next time. “That was a joke,” he grumbles.

“I must’ve missed it.”

“Behave, Kono,” Steve says, and she bestows the same innocent look on him. “I mean it.”

“No idea what you’re talking about,” she replies, ignoring the way Steve rolls his eyes at her. “So, you were talking about English homework.”

“I don’t want to talk about school at lunch.”

“C’mon. I’ll help you with chemistry as payback?”

Danny glares at the brunette. “Steve Nye, Science Guy?”

“How can you hate something which gives you the ability to blow things up? Haven’t you ever played with bottle rockets and potato guns?”

“If I had a potato gun, it would be just my luck to be arrested for it.”

Kono chokes out a laugh around a mouthful of something green and salad-y. Chin just gives him a tepid smile; Danny gets the overwhelming feeling that he’s being interrogated in some sort of cloak-and-dagger method. “So, English?” he says. “If McGarrett here is the science geek, what does that make you?”

“Computer science,” Chin says. “And math. Dumb jocks are required to keep a 2.5 GPA, you know, and both Steve and I are way above that.”

Danny thunks his head down on the lunch table. “Of course you are. Because perfect prom king here next to me can’t be bad at anything.”

“Aww, Danny, thanks,” Steve says, and honest-to-God preens.

“I didn’t mean that as a compliment.”

“Yes, you did.”

Danny gives him a _you are a smug asshole_ glare and says, “I hate math, but I can figure it out without help.”

“Oh, come _on_ , quit being such a hard ass. Steve says you’re not as scary as you seem.”

Steve and Danny look at Kono at the same time; Danny growls and Steve grins. “I only kind of meant that. He’s still a little scary.”

“Don’t you people have anyone else to ask? Someone else to annoy?” Danny waves a hand through the air. “Do I look like Dr. Feelgood to you?”

“Dr. Strangelove, maybe,” Chin says, and gestures to the leather cuff attached to Danny’s wrist. “What’s with the Goth bracelet, anyway? You in a cult, brah?”

Danny stares at his wrist, unwilling to remark on the bracelet. “Just like it, is all. What’s with the string things attached to your backpack?”

“It’s a label from my surf gear,” Chin says.

“Do you know how to surf?” Steve asks.

“Surfing’s not for civilized people.”

Danny flinches as the three of them boo at him in tandem. The noise is loud enough to draw the attention of some of the others in the cafeteria, who stop and stare at them. “What?” Danny snaps, loudly enough that the rest of the student population returns to its business. “Jesus Christ, what the fuck was that?”

“Don’t knock the surfing, brah, or we’ll have to take some sort of revenge on you. My shoes have pointy toes, but I can think of worse.”

He fights and fails at hiding a smile, chuckles. “You’re pretty bloodthirsty for a…”

“… if you say girl, your nuts are coming off.”

“Freshman,” Danny finishes, and laughs. “Girl? You’re not a girl, you’re like The Bride.”

They all stare at him blankly, and he grins. “Kill Bill? The Bride? Tarantino, people, you had to have seen his movie. Kono’s The Bride, you know, ‘It all depends. When do you want to die? Tomorrow? The day after tomorrow?’ Tell me you’ve seen it. Come on.”

“Must be a Jersey thing,” Chin says to Steve, shrugging. He ignores Danny’s sound of protest. “We gonna study or what?”

Steve nudges Danny’s shoulder with his, grins at the blonde as nicely as he can and says, “You may as well give in, Danno. Unless you crawl under the table, there’s no escape.”

Danny tries not to think about what else he could be doing to Steve if he crawled under the table, and fails. “Don’t call me Danno, you dick. And if you’re gonna take up the entire fucking table with your lunch scraps, I’m not gonna study with you. Do I look like I want to touch your crumbs?”

Steve theatrically sweeps his sandwich bits away, sweeping the table clean and gesturing for Danny to continue. Danny sighs. “Okay, so, MacBeth…”

The lunch period passes faster than Danny wants to admit, though he still takes the time to elbow Steve as they slide out of the lunch booth. “Thanks for siccing your friends on me.”

“They’ll probably be your friends, too, at some point,” Steve says. “Besides, I think Kono likes you.”

“I’m not looking for a girlfriend on this pineapple-infested hellhole.”

“Good.” Steve lowers his voice to a growl. “Because I don’t want to have to ask my dad to bail me out for killing her.”

Danny doesn’t trip over his sneakers at the inflection in Steve’s voice. Nope. Not at all. “So why are you following me? Don’t you have some football things to go bother other people about?”

“No. Besides, we’re going the same place, right? Might as well go together since friends do that.”

“But…”

“Look,” Steve says, and Danny wonders how, in a crowded school, McGarrett’s found an empty classroom to shove him into. “Look, neither Mary nor I are going to tell anyone else that you’ve moved in with us. But people are going to figure out we’re friends, since I’ve suddenly started ‘driving you home’ and shit. Maybe they don’t know we go to the same home, but for the last two weeks, you avoid me during the day except to get out of my car in the morning and get into my car in the afternoon. Maybe you could stop being so much of a dick in between those times? I’ve tried to give you space, and you’ve hidden away in the loft every available moment when we’re out of school. I’m getting fucking sick of the avoidance routine. That’s not fair.”

“Life’s not fair,” Danny says, and he steps into Steve’s personal space. “So what, McGarrett, you want to fight me in here or something? Is that what this is?” 

“No, damn it, I don’t want to hit you, I want…” 

Steve doesn’t finish the sentence, but Danny knows anyway. He steps a tentative foot closer, then another, and then stands up on his tip-toes and grabs Steve’s shoulders. “Anyone could come in right now. You ready to risk that? You know why I avoid you? Because of the way you look at me, like the way you’re looking at me right now. Vince and I managed to hide it, but you wear your heart on your goddamn sleeve. So if you think I’m worth the risk, then I’ll hang out with you. But I’m not gonna get my ass kicked for you every day, got it?”

“Got it,” Steve says, voice wrecked, and that’s it, that’s the final straw, that’s the last thing Danny hears before he presses his mouth to Steve’s. And even after ignoring the other boy for the last two weeks, for doing everything he could to sulk and stew and try to think about ways to get over his broken heart and not get heartbroken again, the answer still came down to this. 

“Damn you, Steven James McGarrett.”

Steve smiles and licks the corner of Danny’s mouth, says, “Go to class, I’ll be there soon.” And when Danny doesn’t move right away, he gives the smaller blonde a push. “Go. If I’m late, Neale’s not gonna care. Go on, I’ll see you there. And then I’ll see you after school, okay?”

“Yeah,” Danny says, not in the mood to argue anymore – and when had the other boy slipped past that defense? – and he ditches out of the empty room, heads to class. 

He eats with the three of them for the rest of the week; Friday night he goes to the school football game and watches with Jack and Kono from the stands. He weeds the yard with Steve on Saturday because it happens to be one of the chores he picked up in the house, along with two nights of loading and unloading the dishwasher and keeping ‘his’ loft neat and tidy. And maybe if he volunteers to help Mrs. M. in the kitchen with the cooking more than not or throws the trash without being told, no one calls him on it for trying too hard. 

It’s kind of nice to be wanted. Or even acknowledged.

So Saturday is chore day and he ends up playing Clue with Steve because it rains Saturday night, and Steve’s not bad to play board games with either. And it’s good and safe until Sunday morning, earlier than the sun, and Steve’s sitting next to him on his bed shaking him. “What the ever loving fuck?”

“Shh. Everyone else is asleep but we gotta get up.”

“Up? But… is there a fire? It’s still dark out, why am I getting up?”

“Surfing!” Steve whispers excitedly. “Come on, Danno. I’m taking you surfing with me.”

“Are you out of your mind? Not a chance on this God’s green earth. No way, not even…”

He doesn’t get to voice his not even, because Steve’s tongue is in his mouth, and of course Steve tastes like toothpaste and Danny tastes like last night’s dead leftovers. “You don’t kiss someone with morning breath,” Danny grouses, when Steve pulls away. “Not unless you both have it, because that’s fucking disgusting, Steven, seriously, you have no sense of manners whatsoever and you cannot just go sticking your tongue into the mouths of innocent bystanders because you feel like it and… what?”

Steve’s grinning at him, all goofy and… and _fond_ , damn him, and he leans down to place a soft kiss on the end of Danny’s nose. “Better?”

Sunk. Sunk, dead in the water – literally maybe, if not figuratively – because how the hell is he supposed to say no to the Golden Retriever in front of him? “You’re buying me breakfast,” he complains, and works very hard at not reacting to the absolute delight on Steve’s face. “And it better be good.”

“You ever have a _malasada_ , Danny?”

**Chapter 11**

Steve almost has his board strapped to the roof of the Marquis when Danny stumbles into the garage, yawning. He’s wearing the blue tee shirt that matches his eyes and a pair of jean shorts and sneakers. “Do you have a suit?”

“This is as good as it gets,” the blonde says, and yeah. As far as Steve’s concerned, the only thing better would be nudity. Nudity, he could get on board with in a damn hurry.

“Okay, well, let me go grab us some towels and my knapsack and I’ll be right back.”

He steps around the car and freezes when Danny makes a strangled sound. “What?”

The other boy stares at him, mouth slightly agape, blinking. For once he doesn’t speak and Steve feels self-conscious. “What?” he repeats.

“What’re you wearing?” Danny chokes out.

He looks down at his bare torso and wetsuit clinging to his hips and oh. He blushes. “My wetsuit? Because, you know, surfing? In water?”

He sounds like an idiot but he can’t help himself, not with the way Danny’s staring at him like he’s something pretty special. “Danny?”

The question spurs Danny into action; one minute he’s standing in front of the Marquis, and the next he’s manhandling Steve against the side of the car and licking his nipples. Steve makes a horribly embarrassing sound and Danny grins, nipping the buds with his teeth. “You look so fucking hot.”

“Nngh – “

“C’mon, McGarrett, you woke me up with your damn tongue in my mouth, get with the program, huh?”

Steve tentatively puts his hands on Danny’s hips, pulling him closer, and Danny nods. The blonde runs his hands up the taller boy’s chest to tangle at the nape of his neck and Steve throws caution to the wind, cupping his hands under Danny’s ass. “Fuck, yeah,” Danny says, pushing into him. “That’s it, touch me. Just like that, c’mon, you’re not gonna break me or anything.”

Steve leans forward and kisses the blonde, shifting to accommodate the height difference, and groans when Danny melts against him. They stay that way for a minute until Steve lifts his head. “Thought we were just friends?”

“Jesus Christ, I’m only human,” Danny replies, and flaps a hand at him. “This looking and not touching stuff? It’s like throwing a vegetarian into an all-you-can-eat steak buffet. Wasteful, is what it is. And I’m tired of going hungry.”

Steve’s not sure he gets the analogy but hey, Danny’s tongue is back in his mouth so it’s okay. Rolling with the kiss, he spreads his legs so he and Danny line up perfectly together, groaning when his dick brushes against the other boy’s. “Danny,” he mumbles. “God, Danny.”

Danny slips a hand between them, palms at Steve’s erection. “Never with a guy?”

“No.”

Danny shoves at him till they’re leaning together against the side of the Marquis. “Don’t move,” he says to Steve, and steps away.

Steve whines, but Danny puts a hand on his chest. “For real. Don’t move.”

Steve obeys and Danny glances over his shoulder in the direction of the house. “You gotta be quiet, okay?”

“Wha…”

Steve gets his answer soon enough, as Danny drops to his knees and tugs at the wetsuit. “Oh, my God,” he says, and helps the other boy tug the second-skin down over his hips. “Dannywhatareyoudoing?”

The blonde licks his lips and reaches forward, tugging Steve’s cock out of the material of his the suit. “What do you think?”

Steve doesn’t think. He doesn’t have any brain cells left with which to think, because Danny’s sucking them all out through his dick. He thinks he mutters as much because the blonde chuckles around his cock, and that sets off a whole other set of sensations.

Danny wraps his lips around him, dragging his teeth carefully up Steve’s shaft and Steve whimpers, the sensations overwhelming and intense and beautiful. Danny’s mouth is a wicked torture, as gorgeous this way as when he’s talking a hundred miles an hour. And then Danny blows his mind again and swallows when he comes, and it’s over way too soon for Steve’s liking. He stays propped up against the Marquis for several minutes afterward, knees locked and panting like he’s just run the length of the field for a touchdown. “God,” he says, finally. 

Danny stands, brushes off his knees, and gives Steven a half-assed grin. “Was it good for you?”

He squeaks when the taller boy lurches forward to crash their mouths together. “Can I do that to you too?”

A crash next to them in the kitchen prevents Danny from replying; instead, Steve winces as he tucks himself in too fast and gets his pubes caught in the material of the wetsuit. He shuffles back to the driver’s side of the car, limping and cursing, and says, “Get in the car!”

“What was that?”

“Probably Dad getting coffee and the paper. Shit, come on, we gotta get out of here.”

Danny freezes. “Are we going to get in trouble for leaving?”

“No, Dad knows I surf most weekends. But do you really want to sit and talk to him for a while before we leave, after what we just did?”

Danny flings open the car door and jumps inside, saying, “Get a move on, for the love of God!”

Steve slides into the driver’s seat, still clutching his balls in discomfort, and starts the car. A quick flip of the remote and the garage door opens; within minutes, they’re on the road, heading toward Steve’s favorite malasada shop. “You know, it’s not good to surf on a full stomach,” he says.

“I’m not surfing. I’m going to watch you try to split your skull open and not freak out about it.”

“Aww, Danny, are you worried about me?”

“If you bleed out, you can’t suck me back.”

The comment startles the laughter out of Steve. “That was pretty amazing. And I mean it. I really want to do that to you, too.”

“You wanna pull over?”

He snaps his gaze to the blonde, only to find Danny grinning at him like a lunatic. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you.”

“Score one point for the pretty jock,” Danny says. “Yes, Steven, I’m teasing you. We’ll call that one a promise of things to come.”

“Does that mean you’ve changed your mind about me? That you want this?”

Danny pauses. “Look, not gonna lie, I still love Vincent. Like, a lot. But you? You confuse the fuck outta me, and you annoy me, and you push your friends at me and I’m not sure what else to do with you except buy into your particular brand of crazy. Maybe it’s because I’m surrounded by pineapples, or something, but… you’re not that bad, maybe.”

Not the ringing endorsement Steve had hoped for, but he’d take what he could get. “I like you too.”

They don’t talk after that, not till they get to Kamekona’s Diner and Surf Shop, and Steve playfully shoves Danny out of the car. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

Kamekona turns out to be a heavyset boy Danny’s age, and his parents own the store. “They named it for me,” he says, and Danny nods. “You surf, haole?”

“Ha-what?”

“It’s a slang term for a mainlander,” Steve says, and frowns at his Hawaiian friend. “It’s not really nice. Kame, be nice, huh?”

“Whatever you say, brah.” Kamekona shrugs and passes a white bag across the counter to the blonde boy. “Here, try this.”

Danny scowls until he takes a bite of the sweet pastry. The frown is quickly replaced by a look of pure bliss. “Oh sweet God, what is that?”

“Malasada,” Steve explains, and chuckles. “You like it?”

“Now you’re my favorite friend,” Danny replies, causing Steve to laugh harder. “Seriously, Steven, you’ve been holding out on me by not taking me here sooner.”

“Sorry, it’s hard to take you around the island when you’re too busy hating it here.”

Danny sticks his tongue out at the taller boy, and Steve fights down the urge to kiss him. “Come on, we’re going to miss the best waves if we don’t get out there. Kame, see you later?”

“Yep. Putting it on your bill, brah!”

“Okay.”

“You have a bill?”

Steve nods and Danny follows him out to the car. “Yeah. I get most of my surf stuff here.”

“Oh.”

They drive to one of Steve’s favorite spots and park amongst a fleet of beat-up trucks and cars. “It’s a short hike to the cove, come on.”

“Hike? You didn’t mention anything about a… oof!”

Danny caught the towel in his face, and Steve laughed. “Come on. I’ve got a few things you need to carry and then we can go.”

“Not a goddamn pack mule,” Danny muttered, but accepted the towel and blanket and a small cooler. “That’s the only reason you wanted me to come, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Danny, you found me out. I can’t manage to make two trips to carry this shit myself. Of course, if you weren’t here, I probably wouldn’t have brought the blanket and sunscreen and extra towels, either.”

Danny grins at Steve’s distress and Steve flips him off before grabbing his board from the rooftop. “Asshole,” he says, affectionately.

“Right back at you,” Danny replies. “Now get that shmoopy puppy look off your face, butch up, and walk. I’m not staying out here all freaking day so I can watch you fall in the water, no matter how much you plead.”

“Shmoopy puppy?”

“Yeah, you know, the ‘aren’t-I-so-freaking-adorable’ face you’re making at me, which, by the way, totally isn’t working. At all.”

“Liar.” Steve picks up his board and heads through the palms, and Danny follows. It takes a roughly ten minute walk to get to the open water, the gorgeous beach that looks like something off a postcard. The sun’s barely rising as they find Kono and Chin, Chin’s girlfriend Malia, Cat Rollins and the rest of the football crowd.

Danny tries to hang to the side but Steve’s not having that, not at all, so he nudges the blonde toward Kono and Chin and the four of them set up blankets together. “Hey, Danny,” Chin says, slapping Danny on the back. “Didn’t expect to see you here this morning.”

“I was bribed,” Danny responds, poking a thumb at Steve. “Malasadas. And knowing that I might get to watch McGarrett here break his head open. Maybe that’ll give me a moment or two of peace.”

“Nah, none of that, now,” Kono chastises. She sits on the other side of Danny and steals a bite of his malasada. “Steve’s…”

“Wait, let me guess. He’s a great surfer.”

Steve blushes and looks away from Danny’s teasing smile. “Poke fun all you want. You just wish you could surf.”

“Pfft! Never. The ocean’s great for fish only.”

Steve looks up; the sky full of purple and orange and pink and he can feel the anticipation thrum in his veins. He started the day with a blow job, a drive with Danny, and surfing. “Life is good,” he says.

He gestures Chin and Kono to come with him, and Chin does; Kono shoos them away, saying, “I’m gonna hang with Danny for a minute. See you two in the water!”

Steve grabs his board and heads for the water, and both boys recklessly throw themselves in, paddling for the barrier where the first crests wait to be tamed. “Nothing like this anywhere else,” Chin says, when they get far enough out to sit and wait for the perfect wave. “Not on the mainland, nowhere.”

“I know. I don’t want to leave it, ever.”

“Not even for college? Nothing?”

Steve shrugs. “Dunno. Maybe? I’ve got awhile. Why such serious questions this morning?”

Chin paddles closer; even though other students and friends are around, the two of them are far enough away to have a modicum of privacy. “Didn’t want you to leave when he does. Or throw away chances because you want to stay for him.”

Steve’s clueless. “What?”

“You know he’s going back to Jersey as soon as he can get out of here, right?”

Steve frowns, understanding the conversation. “So what?” 

“So, just don’t want you getting hurt, my brother,” Chin says. He keeps his eyes locked on Steve’s face. “Look, you’re my best friend. And maybe no one else sees what Kono and I see, but don’t miss out on life because you think you’re going to change him or make him want to stay here.”

“I don’t have any idea…”

“Brah, you’re gay, I get it. It’s cool, all right? But maybe I don’t get your interest in the angry Jersey boy.”

Steve opens and closes his mouth a couple times, misses a couple good waves to stew over Chin’s words. Finally, he decides to be honest. “He’s angry for a reason. And when you know him better, you’ll like him more. Promise.”

“My only promise is to stick it out with you, Steve. We’ve gone through too much shit already, yeah?”

Too much shit, like football and school and being kids and best friends. “Got it. But don’t be too hard on him.”

“He’s got something, I’ll give you that. But he’s kind of hardcore. And who wears a leather cuff to the beach?”

Steve shrugs. “It’s just another mystery for me to figure out.”

“Well, good luck with that. I’m here if you need me, okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks, man.”

“Sure. Now come on, let’s catch a wave back to the beach and save Danny from Kono, okay?”

“Tell me she wasn’t giving him the talk you’re giving me?”

“All right – I won’t tell you.”

Steve groans. 

**Chapter 12**

“So Chin and I have realized you two are totally gay for each other,” is how Kono starts the conversation. “And we’re both okay with it unless you plan on hurting Steve, in which case you’re a dead man.”

Danny stares at her, malasada frozen halfway to his mouth. Which, in some cases, is a good thing, because it ensures that he won’t choke to death. But he still doesn’t know what to say, even if his mouth is unoccupied, because Jesus Christ. Tactless?

“I take it, from your silence, that I’m right? You’re totally gay for…”

“Lower your goddamn voice,” he snaps, cutting her off. “What the ever loving fuck’s wrong with you?”

Kono rolls her eyes at him and gestures around the beach. “No one’s here. They’re all in the water, where I wish I was instead of having to warn you off Steve.”

“You don’t have to… I’m not even… why would you…”

“Because you and he can’t get within ten feet of each other without Steven falling over his own feet for you and when you complain at him, you don’t do it in a bad way. Whereas you threaten all of the other guys in the class, and with Steve you’re kind of… sweet. That’s the right word, sweet.”

Danny stares at her some more and she beams at him. “You totally want him, right? I mean, I get it, he’s McGarrett and he’s a hottie. But still, he’s like my big brother, and if you hurt him I swear to God they’ll find you in pieces. Okay?”

Danny gets it, on some level. He understands because he’d be the same way with any guy who wanted to date Grace; he’s just not normally on the receiving end of the conversation. Especially from a girl two years younger than him (and it doesn’t matter than she’s taller than he is, nope. Not at all.) He thinks about how to reply, and finally takes a page from Steve’s book. “Honestly? I didn’t want any part of him. He pretty much stalked me till I caved in. I don’t even know how I got here this morning, I think he pretty much manhandled me into the car and drove away.”

Kono laughs, big and bold and loud. “Typical Steve. So, manhandled, huh? You don’t look worse for the wear.”

Danny grins, all teeth. “You’re really evil, you know that?” 

“Of course I know it. So, are you getting any yet?”

“Kono!”

“What?” she asks. “You two give each other the ‘do-me’ eyes all day, it’s not like this was a hard guess or something. Is he just as hot without his clothes on?”

Danny is, ironically, speechless in the face of such a question. His hesitation makes her laugh all that much harder. “Oh, sweetie,” she says, “I wish I had a camera to take a photo of you right now.”

Danny splutters and she laughs harder, until a deeper voice says, “Did we miss something?”

He turns his head and any semblance of thought dies on its way to his mouth. Steve’s soaked, wetsuit plastered to his skin and dark hair hanging in his face. The only thing Danny can see clearly is sand and salt and that gorgeous, gorgeous grin. “N..no?” 

Kono laughs again and the awestruck look on Danny’s face morphs into a scowl. “Hating you so hard right now,” Danny informs her, and grumbles when it doesn’t faze her at all. 

“No worries, Steve,” she says. “Danny and I were just hanging out, discussing the view.”

“That statement’s open for all kinds of interpretation, cuz,” Chin says, noting the hint of glee in her eyes. “You sure Jersey’s gonna make it? Cause he looks a minute or two away from a stroke.”

“Must be the heat,” Kono replies, and the two cousins fall apart laughing.

Danny, meanwhile, gets up, takes another long look at Steve, and slinks away toward the shelter of the palm trees. Steve follows him. “Hey!”

“Hey, what?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

The blonde looks around, notices that they’re alone and shielded from the beach by palms and plants. “Yeah. I’ve just never been warned off someone before by a kid.”

Steve groans. “Oh, God. I’m sorry, I didn’t expect either of them to butt in.”

“I know you didn’t,” Danny admits. “Back home, no one really knew about me, except for a few people… Vincent, Grace, obviously my Ma, and a friend or two. But it’s…it’s weird, that both Chin and Kono know. It’s….”

Steve waits for him to continue, and Danny draws a deep breath. “I’ve never really been accepted for it, by someone other than Grace. Or Vince. My Ma thinks I’m wrong, and you know how Frank and Emma felt, and even one of the guys I knew in Jersey, someone I considered a friend, he lost it when he found out.”

“Is it bad that they know? Is it scary? Or is it okay?”

Danny shrugs, which isn’t answer enough for Steve. “Come on, talk to me. You want to be, I don’t know, buddies with benefits with me, right, so you might as well talk to me.”

“I probably should, considering I have no resistance to that face.”

“This one?” Steve mock-pouts with glee. “Pleeeeeeze….”

The shorter boy laughs. “Christ, okay, yes. Yes, it’s scary that they know, but it’s also okay because for some reason, I think they don’t care unless I break your heart or something. Which is ridiculous, thinking I could break _your_ heart…”

“Why is that ridiculous?”

Danny waves a hand at him. “Seriously. You’re you. I’m me. Trust me, you can do much better.”

“Maybe you should let me make my own decisions, huh? On what is and isn’t important to me? And the kind of person I happen to be attracted to?”

Danny stares at him, then nods. “Okay. But I’m still going with my initial thought, you can do…”

Steve cuts him off mid rant by dipping his head and kissing him. “Shut up, Danno. I don’t want anyone else. Even if you don’t feel the same way.”

Danny closes his eyes, reaches one hand up to touch Steve’s face. “Who says I don’t feel the same way, huh? Fine. You want me, you got me.”

Steve smiles, and Danny can’t help but notice how much the Hawaiian sunrise can’t compare to the look on the other boy’s face. He kisses Steve, brushing the hair out of the brunette’s face, nuzzling their noses together. He doesn’t argue when Steve pulls him closer, curling their bodies into a tree to hide them from view of the beach. “I could lay you down right here in the sand and no one would see us,” Steve breathes in Danny’s ear. “I could repay you for this morning…”

Danny squirms against Steve’s thigh, the limb wedged between his own legs and pressing into him, making him hard. “Too many people could come find us.”

“But…”

“Later. Just later,” Danny says. He grins and laughs against Steve’s chest. “Kono asked me what you looked like naked, and I wouldn’t put it past her to come over and try to find out.”

Steve stiffens against him and Danny looks up. “What?” the brunette asks.

“Kono…”

“No, I heard you. She was asking about us… you know, doing… that? What did you tell her?”

“I told her you were hung like a pony and I couldn’t wait to get you in my ass,” Danny snaps. “Jesus, I didn’t say anything to her! Why, Steven? You afraid she’ll think you like taking it instead of giving it? You embarrassed by me?”

“What? No! Of course I’m not embarrassed by you! But that’s pretty personal for her to ask you and it’s none of her business what we’re doing. She shouldn’t… damn it, she knows I don’t kiss and tell!”

Danny blinks at him. Out of all the things he expected, this isn’t it. “What?”

Steve makes a face like a constipated giraffe. “I don’t kiss and tell,” he repeats. “I wouldn’t give her any details about my relationship with Cat, either, because private stuff is private. I mean, God, this is between you and me and it’s special. It’s none of anyone’s business.”

“So if I was a girl, you wouldn’t go bragging about being able to score on me?”

“Of course not!”

“Not even tempted to tell her a little bit?”

Steve’s body relaxes against Danny’s. “Not even a little bit. You’re… you’re the stuff for my fantasies and I’m not sharing those fantasies with anyone.”

Danny licks the larger boy’s sternum. “Your fantasies, huh?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, but his voice is uneven. “So… you’re not mad?” 

“Not mad. I thought – “ and Danny places a kiss over Steve’s heart, “ – thought you were embarrassed. Never took you for old fashioned like this, though.” 

“Are you mocking me?” Steve asks, his fingers finding their way to the waistband of Danny’s pants. “Are you?”

“No, not mocking. I’m kinda turned on by it.”

“Yeah,” Steve agrees, and leans down to kiss the other boy. “So you think I’ve got a big dick? And you want me to be inside you?”

Danny giggles into Steve’s mouth. “So you were listening to that, huh?”

“Hard to miss it.”

“Speaking of hard…” Danny rubs against Steve’s thigh. “Is there someplace private on this island, away from your parents and everyone else? Or do you still want to surf?”

“There’s a spot we could go,” Steve says. “But it’s up in the mountains; a natural cave I found, very desolate. We could bring the blankets and stuff...”

“So what are we waiting for?” 

Steve grins, pulls away from Danny and puts his palm into his own crotch. “Gotta get rid of this first.”

Both boys laugh at each other, forcing their erections down, and race each other back to the beach to gather their belongings. When they arrive, however, they’re not greeted by Chin and Kono’s smiling faces.

They’re greeted by Victor and Anton Hesse, along with Steve’s sister and Patty Jameson. “Did you two have a nice little lover’s stroll?” Victor asks, causing Mary and some of the other football players to laugh. 

“Fuck off, Victor,” Steve says. “I was showing Danny where we hit the head around here.”

“I’m amazed he couldn’t just find an available tree like the little bitch that he is,” Victor continues, and Steve bristles. “Isn’t that right, McGarrett? Isn’t he your bitch?”

“Victor, stop it,” Mary says, and looks shamefaced. “That’s not…”

“Oh no,” Victor says. “I think it’s funny. The bad-ass little Jersey boy lives with the McGarrett’s now because his uncle beat the shit out of him. Isn’t that ironic? And funny?”

Danny balls his hands into fists and moves into Victor’s space. “You wanna take this somewhere else, asshole?”

Anton moves to Victor’s side, and before Danny can say anything else he feels Steve step up behind him. And then Chin’s there next to him, and Kono, and Cat Rollins moves into Steve’s space and Danny’s never been so grateful to anyone in his whole life. Especially when none of the other kids step up to back up the Hesse brothers. Anton shoots his older brother a nervous look, says, “Come on, Vic. Let’s ditch these losers and go find somewhere else to surf.”

“Yeah,” Victor says, shrugging. “Maybe we’ll finish this when you don’t need so many people to protect you?”

“I’ll meet you whenever you want, cocksucker.” 

The two brothers scuttle off, Mary and Patty in tow, and the crowd loses interest in the proceedings. Danny visibly wilts as the adrenaline leaves him; a soft hand on his shoulder has him turning, expecting Kono. Instead, he’s greeted by another version of Steve – tall and beautiful. “Uh, hi?”

“I’m Cat. We haven’t officially met yet, but you must be Danny.”

“Yeah.” 

She gives him an impish grin. “Any time you want to beat the crap out of those two morons, you let me know and I’m there, okay?”

“Sure?”

At Danny’s confused look, she adds, “I went to elementary and middle school with those two idiots and they used to call me ‘stork girl’. Then I got boobs and suddenly Anton wanted to date me. Hello, really? Jerks.”

Danny laughs and tries not to look at her boobs. He fails. “Yeah, okay.”

“Don’t think I didn’t see that.”

He blushes and says, “I wouldn’t have if you didn’t point them out!”

Steve laughs and puts a hand on Cat’s arm. “Are you telling him the stork story?”

“Yeah, he looked a little confused as to why I stood up with you guys.”

They hug each other affectionately. “See you later, Steven. Try not to do anything stupid, huh?”

“Cat!”

She laughs and leaves them; as soon as they’re sure Danny’s okay, Chin and Kono drift away as well. Danny can’t help himself; he asks, “So, that’s Cat? That’s the Cat of ‘Steve and Cat’? Wow, Steve. She’s ridiculously hot.”

Steve elbows him in the ribs. “Shut up. She’s more of a sister to me than Mary is. Speaking of Mary…”

He glares darkly down the beach to where his sister is with the Hesses. “She’s in so much trouble, I’m telling Dad.”

“That’s not gonna do anything about the situation.”

“Yes, it is, she’ll get grounded and that’ll make me feel better.”

It’s so childish that Danny has to laugh. “Thanks. So you don’t care that everyone knows I’m living with you now?”

“I would’ve told them all when you first moved in, if you’d wanted. I don’t care. Do you?”

“Kinda, I mean, your sister pretty much told everyone I got my ass beaten by my uncle.”

“Yeah, well, anyone who gives you shit about it will answer to me, all right?”

Danny nudges Steve and Steve’s glare falters. “What…”

“You’re my protector now?”

“You bet your ass I am,” Steve spits out. He’s got his jaw clenched so tightly it hurts. “No one picks on the people I care about, I don’t care who they are.” 

“Oh.”

“And you, don’t go freaking out about me caring about you, because that’s just bullshit. Remember, you’re my friend, right?” 

“Always your friend, Steve. You want to go home and talk to your Dad now, or you want to go cave-exploring?”

Steve freezes. “You mean, you still want to… err… take that hike with me?”

“Yeah, a hike sounds pretty good right now. I could use the _exercise_ , couldn’t you?”

**Chapter 13**

Two hours later, despite all of Danny’s complaints, they find themselves in the shade of Steve’s cave; they stay in the front entrance, from which they can still see the untamed jungle and a small lagoon. 

“And you’re sure no one’s used this in some sort of cheesy romance movie before?”

Steve laughs. “Are you gonna complain the whole day away?”

Danny sits up from his spot on the blanket, says, “What else am I gonna do, Steven? Tell you how freaking gorgeous it is here? How I’m totally wooed by your secret cave?”

“Wooed?”

The blonde nods. “Wooed.”

Steve sits next to him on the blanket. “Does that mean I get to have my way with you now?”

“Yes, it does.”

Steve leans in to kiss the other boy. “I’m glad we stopped at that drugstore, then.” Even though he had died a little about running inside for condoms and lubricant. He isn’t going to share that with Danny. 

But when Danny grins, Steve feels like the other boy already knows. So he kisses the smirk off his lips, taking the more aggressive role of ‘kisser’ instead of ‘kissee’, humming against Danny’s mouth when Danny tilts his head. “Nice,” he breathes. 

“Yeah.”

Steve pushes Danny backwards till he’s lying flat on the ground, stretched out like some sinful painting for Steve’s viewing pleasure. “Like you like this.”

“Quiet?” Danny teases, and wiggles out of his shirt. 

“That too,” Steve says. He laughs and reaches out to rub a hand across the blonde fuzz on Danny’s stomach. “I mean, I like you stretched out like this. Waiting. Mine.” 

“Yours,” Danny agrees, and it’s so damn easy for Steve to go along with this; even though he’s never been with a boy before, Danny’s gentleness makes all the difference. Steve says, “I thought you’d be bossier.”

“I don’t want to freak you out by demanding everything up front. I want you to be okay with this,” Danny says, and props himself up on his elbows to stare at Steve. “Not… I don’t know how else to say this, but Vince was really patient with me. His whole intent was to make me feel good and for me to be okay with it, and that’s what I want to do for you.”

“I’m already okay with this.” 

Danny drops his fingers to his fly and unbuttons the button, exposing the first hints of navy boxer-briefs. “Then take off your clothes?”

Steve freezes for a second, then frantically starts tugging off one of his sneakers. So much so that he gets the laces tangled into knot. “Shit.”

Danny sits up and slaps Steve’s hands away from his shoes. “This isn’t a race, you know. It’ll be easier if you don’t break yourself in an effort to get naked.”

“Yeah, I know,” Steve says, completely embarrassed. “I wasn’t…”

Danny hushes him, gets the knot undone and starts tugging at his sneaker; he removes it, the sock, and starts on the other foot. “You know what, no explanation needed. I’m kinda looking forward to this, too.”

Steve pulls off his own shirt while Danny takes care of his shoes. Soon, both boys sit in their underwear. “So.”

“So.”

Danny rolls to his knees and moves into Steve’s personal space, leaning in so their shoulders touch and so he can drop his face into Steve’s neck. He kisses a path up the taller boy’s throat to his ear, nipping the lobe lightly. Steve shivers. “Feels good.”

“Yeah. To me, too. You smell like the ocean.”

Danny smells like clear blue skies and freedom and something uniquely male, but Steve has no idea how to say any of that without sounding lame. So he shifts; they kiss lazily, exploring each other, and somehow Danny ends up in his lap so they’re face-to-face. He’s entranced by the way Danny opens his mouth and allows Steve’s tongue to explore, allows him to take over the kiss because _Steve really liked kissing Catherine, but it was nothing compared to this heaven_. The deeper kissing leads to touching; Steve can’t help but lift his hips to rub the fly of his boxers against Danny’s. “You keep doing that and I’m gonna come in my shorts,” Danny warns him. “Seriously, Steven, no one ever taught you manners, right? You’re adopted, because I know that wonderful mother of yours would’ve taught you about assaulting people and making them sticky and how that’s not cool.”

“You know, let’s not talk about my mother while we’re doing this, okay?”

Danny belly-laughs, shocking Steve and he pulls back to blink at the boy in his lap. “What? That was the happiest sound you’ve ever made!”

Danny grins at him. “You, you make me smile. You’re a-freaking-dorable.”

“I am not adorable!” Steve says, indignant. “Adorable is for… for puppies or something.”

“Nope, I’m right.” Danny wiggles in Steve’s lap and Steve’s brain shuts down. “Adorable, with a capital A. So you’re gonna make me sticky and make me like it, huh?” 

“Fuck…” 

Danny lifts up, gets out of Steve’s lap, worms out of his underwear. “Come on, naked. Naked, please?”

Somehow they end up without underwear, rolling around on the blanket, half-wrestling and more than halfway aroused. Steve ends up finding a ticklish spot behind Danny’s right knee and, while pinning him to the ground, rubs his cock against the blonde’s ass on accident and shoots a stripe across the fuzzy blonde nether cheeks. 

Danny pauses. “Did you just come on my ass?” 

“Um? Sort of?” The blush on his cheeks is fierce and he’s mortified, but Danny doesn’t seem to be too upset. In fact Danny just grunts, reaches for his own cock but Steve scrambles up, pins him on his back. “No, don’t. Let me?” 

Before the other boy can argue, Steve kneels over Danny’s waist so that the blonde’s erection bobs in front of his face. He licks his lips and then leans down to lick the head of Danny’s cock, listening to Danny suck in a shaky breath. “God, Steven, just like that…” 

The approval urges Steve to try again, lick a little more firmly. He holds the base of Danny’s cock and Danny closes his fingers over Steve’s, tugging at the larger boy’s hand till they establish a short, jerky rhythm. “C… can you? Can you, harder, l-lick… please?” 

Incoherent Danny is even more appealing than talkative Danny, and Steve licks again, closing his mouth over the plump head. He doesn’t try to take any of the other boy’s cock into his throat, not wanting to choke, but he gets mouthful after mouthful of the pre-ejaculate he’s read about in health class. He lifts his head and meets Danny’s gaze. “Are you close?” 

Danny nods, his eyes at half-mast, breathing labored. “P…please, Steven?” 

Steve increases the speed of his hand, goes back to licking at the crowned head of Danny’s cock, and watches in awe as the younger boy arches his back and comes all over himself. “Wow.” 

Danny breathes heavily, throws an arm over his eyes so he doesn’t have to look at the brunette while he’s feeling raw and out of sorts. When he gets his breath back he asks, “Wow what?” 

“You’re so beautiful like that.” 

Danny’s neck and chest pinks and Steve moves up his body to kiss him. “Does that embarrass you?” 

“A little,” the smaller boy admits. 

They lay next to each other on the blanket, and finally Steve says, “Do you swim?” 

“Yeah, but only for necessity.” 

“What if we go skinny-dipping in the lagoon together? Does that count as necessity?” 

“Well… it would be nice to get the jizz off.” 

Steve laughs. “Race you?” 

“No. No way, with your long legs, how’m I supposed to… McGarrett!”

Steve’s halfway to the water when he hears Danny charge out of the cave after him. “Damn it!” he hears, but he’s already cannon-balling into the icy, clear water. 

Danny screams like a little girl when he follows. “Jesus Christ, it’s cold!”

“Well, yeah, it’s not a heated pool…”

Danny valiantly tries to swim for the shoreline but Steve’s not having any of it. “Come here,” he says, pulling the other boy to him. “Press up with me, I’ll warm you.”

“Jesus, my nuts just tried to crawl up my asshole.”

“Tell them they can’t, because I don’t want to have to fight them for the space.”

Danny’s eyes go wide and he giggles, then claps a hand over his own mouth. Steve takes it as permission to manhandle Danny into closer proximity; when he finds a rock shelf, he sits down and pulls Danny into his lap. It takes a minute or two, but the blonde curls up against him and stops shaking. “Are you better?”

“S…S… Sorta,” Danny says, teeth chattering. “How are you not freezing?”

Steve shrugs. “I run hot, I guess.”

“He guesses,” Danny mimics, and rolls his eyes. “You’re like a volcano boiling over, and you guess.”

“Did you want me to leave you alone?” Steve moves to pull away.

“No!” the other boy squeaks, and then swats at Steve. “Stop grinning. Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing.”

“And what am I doing?” 

“Trying to keep me in your lap.”

“I don’t think I have to try hard for that.”

“Ass,” Danny says, and steals a kiss. “You’re an asshole.”

“And you’re beautiful.”

Danny blushes again, hides his eyes behind one hand. “Quit that!” he complains, and it’s Steve’s turn to laugh. “I’m serious, McGarrett, you suck.”

Steve catches the errant hand by the wrist and frowns at the leather band there. “I suck now – I learn pretty quick, huh. And why are you wearing this thing in the water?”

Danny jerks his arm back and almost punches himself in the face to get himself free from Steve’s grasp. “I like it, that’s all.”

“How can you like something that cuts off the circulation in your wrist?” Steve says, and catches Danny’s hand again. He gropes for the buckle, ignoring Danny’s squirming and pleading, until the cuff falls into the water next to them.

Steve gapes at the jagged-edged scar running across Danny’s wrist where the skin’s still puffy and red. “God, Danno…”

Danny yanks his hand free, ducks his head under Steve’s chin and hides against the larger boy’s chest. “Please, don’t. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Steve reaches into the water and snags the cuff before they dislodge it from the shelf and lose it. He tentatively passes it to Danny. “You know I wanna ask.”

“I know you do. It just, it happened. I, I broke a mirror in Jersey. And, um...”

Steve kisses Danny’s forehead, wraps strong arms around him. “I thought you didn’t want to talk about it?”

“You make me want to tell you all my secrets,” the blonde confesses. He doesn’t move from the heat of Steve’s body, refuses to look at the other boy, but continues, “I know you’ve heard all the rumors about how I punched my assistant principal, right? Well, when I got arrested in Jersey, I was a mess. And when they took me to the police station, I told one of the officers I had to take a leak. They escorted me to a bathroom and I guess no one really was watching me, because I punched out a mirror and… I just wanted to be not there, you know? Because I couldn’t tell them what had happened.”

“What happened?”

The question makes Danny pull back, stare at Steve open-mouthed. “You mean, your dad doesn’t have a copy of the police report?”

“I’m sure he does, but he didn’t tell me about it… why? Why did you punch the guy?”

“He – “ Danny closes his eyes, continues, “He tried to fuck me. He caught me kissing Vince one day, and then he cornered me and, and he tried to touch me. I punched the shit out of him and when I told the cops what happened, he called me a liar. They believed him over me because I hit him before he could _do anything_ and there wasn’t any proof. And they arrested me.”

Steve blinks, can’t believe his ears. “They didn’t even investigate it, they just arrested you?”

“They took me into ‘custody’,” Danny replies, making the air quotes. “While they could formally investigate him. It took them all of a few hours, because there weren’t any witnesses and no proof that I wasn’t making it up. He said… he said I was lying, that he had only tried to give me detention and I hauled off and hit him.”

“Did you tell anyone he walked in on you and Vince?”

Danny snorts. “I told my Ma, but how could I tell anyone else? Without admitting that I’m queer? And how could I do that to Vincent? He was trying to get into college and he was already older than me, he could’ve gotten into trouble for being with me in the first place. He wanted to go to the police on my behalf but I wouldn’t let him.”

“I would’ve tried to help you anyway, even if it meant me getting into trouble for it,” Steve says. He can’t understand why Vince didn’t do everything in his power to protect Danny. “You wouldn’t have been able to stop me from telling everyone that you were mine.”

“You shouldn’t feel like that,” Danny says, softly. “You still hardly know me.” 

“I know you look at me like you don’t think you’re worth it,” Steve counters. “That you act like a dick to keep people away from you because you’re scared.”

“Fuck you,” Danny says, and jerks out of Steve’s arms. “I’m not scared, fuck you Steven!”

Steve moves after the other boy and they struggle together in the water, Danny finally pulling away and stomping toward the shoreline. He barely makes it to the edge of the lagoon before Steve’s on him, tackling him to the ground. “Get the fuck off of me!”

“No! Not till you face it, that I care about you!”

“I know you do!” Danny shouts back. “And I care about you too!”

“So why are you yelling at me?”

“Because!” 

They stop. Stare at each other. Steve feels his mouth quirk up into a silly grin. “Because, huh?”

“Yeah. I said so, that’s why.”

“You’re still not scaring me away. Not even you punching a teacher could scare me away, Danny. Not if you punch a mirror, either.”

“I didn’t just punch the mirror.”

“Yeah, I guessed that. You tried to cut your wrist, right?”

The blonde deflates. “Yeah. You’re not freaked out?”

Steve touches the skin at Danny’s wrist, feels the other boy’s pulse flutter beneath his fingertips. “I’m not freaked out. I mean, you aren’t planning on doing it again, right? If anything scares you or you need someone to lean on, you’re gonna talk to me about it, right?”

Danny shakes his head no, won’t look Steve in the eye, and Steve isn’t having any of that. “Look at me.”

Danny lifts his gaze, and only then does Steve realize why Danny wouldn’t look at him before. “Aww, jeez, don’t. Don’t cry.”

Fat teardrops roll down Danny’s cheeks. “It’s not supposed to happen twice,” Danny says, and Steve’s confused until he continues, “falling for someone this hard.”

“You’ve got a lot of love to give and you deserve to be loved back,” Steve replies. He brings his hand up and thumbs a teardrop off of Danny’s cheek, loving the way Danny melts at the touch. 

“You saying you love me?”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Then say it.”

“I love you, Danny.”

“I love you too,” Danny replies, and wraps his legs around Steve’s waist so that they line up together. “I want this.”

“In the cave, I got stuff…”

“No,” Danny says, shaking his hair out of his face. “No, like this, here, just with us. I’ve only been with Vince and I trust you.”

“I’ve only been with Catherine. But won’t it hurt?”

“A little. But I want you to fuck me anyway. I need this, to feel you. Use spit.”

Steve groans, drops his head to Danny’s chest with a solid ‘thunk’. “God. Okay.”

Danny kisses him hard, pulling at his shoulders till there’s no room between them. He rubs his cock along Steve’s belly and Steve shudders at the feel of it. He shudders harder when the blonde says, “Give me your hand.”

Steve intertwines his fingers with the other boy’s, watches as Danny raises their hands to his mouth and sucks Steve’s fingers. It’s like the blow job he got – the perfect amount of pressure on the pads of his fingers, long slow arch of tongue across the webbing between the digits. Steve groans when Danny lets go. “Now touch me. There. Between my legs,” Danny says. “It’s okay.”

It’s like someone else has taken over his body; not sure what he’s doing, Steve follows the directions and slips his hand between them, to the hot space behind Danny’s balls. He trails a finger along the puckered skin and Danny gasps at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it just feels really good.”

Steve strokes again, touches the ridge of the opening and Danny says, “Put a finger inside me.”

Steve freezes, looks at the other boy’s face. “You’re sure?”

“If you don’t hurry up and put your finger inside me, I’m gonna punch you,” Danny says, but the words are undercut by his breathlessness. “C’mon, please? I want your dick.”

The admission makes Steve groan and bite down on his lip to keep himself from coming right there. He tilts his hand so he can angle a finger into Danny, and he groans when he slides into the other boy’s tightness. “Fuck…”

Danny’s eyes close and a blissful dreaminess steals across his face. “That feels so good. So good.”

It must feel even better when Steve twists his fingers, because Danny throws his head back against the sand and moans hard. Steve kisses him because he can and slides another finger alongside the first. The fit’s tighter this time, the spit not giving them enough moisture to glide. “I’m not going to hurt you,” Steve says, and pulls his fingers back. He ignores Danny’s whine of disappointment. “Come on. Cave.”

He struggles to his feet, hard enough to cut diamonds, cock jumping up to his belly as he stands upright. He offers Danny a hand and yanks him up. “You better walk quickly,” the blonde fusses at him, tugging him toward the cave. “Hurry up, come on…”

Steve grins; he’s never been more turned on in his whole life, not even the time he and Chin snuck into an adult film store. Danny’s enthusiastic dragging makes him laugh and hurry to keep up. “Pushy, much?”

“Yes, because I know what your fingers feel like in my ass and I want them back, damn it.”

Steve doesn’t argue, uses the length of his stride to his full advantage and drags Danny to the blanket. He kneels next to his clothes and digs through his pants pockets for the tiny bottle of lube and condoms, fingers trembling with excitement. “Your wish is my command,” he says, once he gets the cap off the tube and slicks up his fingers. “Bring that ass over here.”

Danny snickers and tackles Steve to the blanket and they roll around; Danny comes to rest on his back and parts his legs for Steve to move between them. Steve picks up immediately where they left off, pushing in two fingers and scissoring them apart. The slick eases the twist of his fingers and Danny cries out in pleasure. “Oh, fuck! Fuck, yes, like that again!”

“Bossy,” Steve says, but does as he’s told. Danny’s scrambling to touch as much of him as possible, pulling him down for kisses and exchanges of tongue. He groans when he feels Danny push back to meet the thrust of his fingers and adds another one when Danny moans at him. “Are you… do you want…?”

“Now, now now,” Danny chants, and it’s all the encouragement Steve needs to grab for the condoms next to him. He tears open the package with his teeth and rips the condom when he does it; Danny pants and giggles as he reaches for the second packet. This one opens without a hitch and he slides it over his dick, grabbing at his balls to stave off his own orgasm. He’s been hard too long and ready for this since the day Danny dropped a notebook at his feet.

“I’ve wanted this since I met you,” he admits, and lines up his cock to Danny’s hole. “Wanted you since I first laid eyes on you.”

“Fuck…” Danny shudders, eyes so wide and so blue that Steve swears he’s staring at the sky instead. “Please, want this. Want this with you so bad.”

Steve pushes the head of his dick into Danny’s willing body, swearing at the heat and snugness surrounding him. “Oh, shit. Fuck, shit, so tight, Danny, so fucking tight…”

Danny raises his hips and sucks Steve in deeper, further, till his balls brush against Danny’s ass and they’re nose-to-nose, chest-to-chest, kissing and rocking together in a rhythm like the sea.

It doesn’t take long, despite their earlier orgasms. The newness and pure joy of joining in such a way edges them both to climax too soon.

Steve pulls away first, causing Danny to grunt, but he flops to the side and pulls the other boy into his arms. “Jesus, that was fucking amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like that in my whole life.”

Danny doesn’t respond for a moment, he just curls into Steve’s embrace, snuggling his head into the crook of Steve’s neck and tossing an arm across Steve’s torso. Finally, he mumbles, “I think you make Hawaii worth it.”

Nothing on earth could keep the blinding smile off Steve’s face as he kisses the shorter boy.

**Chapter 14**

“This is the stupidest looking Christmas decoration I’ve ever seen. Who the fuck hangs palm trees from a string of lights?”

Kono gives Danny a withering glare. “This is Christmas in Hawaii, loser. Of course the Christmas lights have palm trees. And the reindeer wear grass skirts.”

Danny’s head snaps up, but when Kono grins at him, he flips her off. “Bitch.”

“Takes one!”

Steve guffaws at the comeback and Danny shoves his… his _boyfriend_ none too gently. “Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side.”

“Sorry,” Steve says, looking remarkably non-sorry. “My bad.”

They’ve spent the majority of the afternoon at Cat’s, helping her deck out her bedroom in Christmas decorations. The computer on Cat’s desk spews carols and a scrolling screen saver shows a wintry landscape. It’s just like winter – except for the eighty degree heat and vast sunlight when they look outside. “So tell me again why you decorate your room?” Danny asks.

Cat stops fiddling with tiny ceramic houses on her dresser long enough to say, “Because my parents let me? This is my favorite holiday so don’t you Grinch at me. Besides, we can play a board game or something after you help decorate, and Mom’s made chocolate milk and cookies for us.”

“Are they her pineapple-macadamia cookies?” Steve perks at the thought. “With the coconut icing?”

Cat laughs. “Yes, because she knows you love them so much, she made a batch just for you.”

“Fucking pineapple…”

Cat tosses her pillow at Danny, catching him in the face. “And she also made some chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin for the rest of us. Remember, she loves Steve more than I do.”

“Your Mom’s cool,” Steve says. “What do you want from me?”

Cat just rolls her eyes. Meanwhile, Kono finishes digging through one of the boxes on Cat’s bed and pulls out a green, tangled ball of something. “Hey Cat? What’s this?”

Cat grins at the other girl. “That’s mistletoe! I mean, it’s a fake version, but it’s supposed to be mistletoe. Let’s hang it over the entrance to my bedroom. Danny, can you do that?”

Kono tosses the ball to Danny; he takes one look at the doorframe and scowls. “Do I look like I come equipped with a ladder?”

Suddenly he’s being tugged off the bed and Steve’s got their fingers intertwined. “Let’s see what I can do to help with that, Danno.”

Danny grumbles under his breath, but allows Steve to drag him to the door. Using a thumbtack, Steve pins the bright-green ball into the doorframe, letting it dangle from the framework. “There. Mission accomplished.”

Danny grins. “You know how mistletoe works, right?”

Steve shoots a quick glance to Cat and Kono; both girls are watching them with avid interest. “I don’t think…”

But Danny’s not having any excuses. He crowds into Steve’s space, pinning the larger boy between his body and the bedroom wall. Standing on tip-toe, he pulls Steve down so Steve’s mouth covers his and he sucks in a breath, stealing the air straight from Steve’s lungs. Steve moans into his mouth, tilts his head and deepens the kiss so that their tongues tangle.

And Steve, sneaky bastard that he is, also takes advantage to wrap his hands around Danny’s back and get his hands on Danny’s ass. Not that Danny argues too much. 

Danny isn’t sure how long they stand there, mouths pressing and tongues tangling, till Steve pulls back. His cheeks are flushed and he couldn’t look more gorgeous if he tried. “Merry Christmas.”

“Yeah,” Danny says, clearing his throat. “Merry Christmas.”

“Aww…” 

They both snap their attention to the two girls in the room, who are both cooing at them. “You guys are so adorable together.”

“Jesus, I’m gonna puke,” Danny postures, though neither girl buys it. “Enough with the sappy stuff, huh? God.”

Kono laughs and Danny does _not_ blush, thankyouverymuch. “I don’t know, Danny, you looked mighty sappy there, snuggling up to Steve…”

“Shaddup,” he says, though he makes no moves to pull away from the heat of Steve’s body. It doesn’t hurt that Steve hooks his thumbs into the back pockets of Danny’s jeans and gropes his ass a little more.

Steve, meanwhile, shrugs like nothing’s wrong – like Danny and he didn’t just try to suck each other’s tongues off in front of witnesses. “Don’t worry, Danno, they’re just jealous because my boyfriend is hotter than either Ben or Bob.”

Danny knows who Ben Bass is, but, “Bob?”

“Yeah, you know, Bob. Battery operated boyfriend?”

Cat turns the color of the red holiday decorations and Danny howls with glee. She gets up, yanks him away from Steve, and is sitting on him a second later, tickling him until he’s practically crying. “You think that’s funny, huh? Well, you better be careful there, blondie, or I’m gonna steal Steve back from you and use him as Bob instead.”

“You can try,” Danny says, between huge gasps for air. “But I think I’ve cornered that market.”

“I can see why. You’ve got the nicest ass, Danny. It’s kind of a bubble-butt and you can tell Steve’s totally into it.”

Danny dies a little at Kono’s remark, turns the same red shade as Catherine. “Holy fuck, bite me.”

“I’ll do the biting around here, thank you,” Steve interjects, and physically lifts Cat off of Danny’s body. “Okay, that’s all the molesting I can bear to watch without getting jealous. Sorry.”

“D’aww…” Cat coos. “Maybe you want to pounce on him instead?”

“I’m not here for your entertainment, madam,” Steve says. He looks so prim and proper and gentleman-ly that Danny’s tempted to tackle him to the floor and entertain the girls despite Steve’s objections.

He figures he could get Steve on board anyway.

Instead, he stands up, brushes off his jeans, and regains original his seat on the bed. “I can’t believe Christmas is only two weeks away.”

“I know, this year’s flown by,” Cat says. “But we’re glad you’re here, Danny. Despite the whole ‘angry boy’ vibe you had at the beginning of the year, you’re pretty awesome. And Steven’s totally less anal now that you’re here. Or, at least, there’s not a stick up his ass anymore, since he found something better to put in there…or is it vice versa? How does that work with you two, anyway? Danny, does Steve fuck you because you’re smaller than he is?”

Danny feels his face flame because wow, there’s a personal question if there ever was one, and Steve’s about the same color. “Uh… sometimes? We… um, we take turns? Oh my God, Catherine, really did you just ask me that? And did I really just answer you? Holy fuck, Steven, hit me please to make me shut up!” 

Steve punches him in the arm and his mouth snaps shut; Cat just gives them both a wicked smile. “Never make fun of a girl’s Bob, or she’ll get even. You both understand?”

“Yes, Catherine,” they chime. Because she’s evil and it isn’t good to piss off evil people. Especially really, really evil people who ask things that are none of their business... 

“Good. Now come on, my slave boys. Help me and Kono finish decorating. No one’s paying you to stand around looking pretty all day.”

“Technically, we’re not getting paid.”

“You’re getting paid in milk and cookies, Steven, and if you don’t hurry up I’m not giving you any of them!”

They finish decorating and eat cookies and drink milk – Danny even deigns to taste one of the pineapple monstrosities Steve loves – until it’s late and they have to go back to the McGarrett’s. Danny sits quietly in the Marquis next to Steve until Steve says, “Whatcha thinking about?”

Danny shrugs. “Not much, just… it’s Christmas. I know you helped me find some gifts to send home to Grace and Ma, but I miss them. You know?”

Steve glances at Danny, checks the rearview, and pulls off to the side of the road. The sun’s just starting to set; the Hawaiian skyline is gorgeously painted in purples and oranges and green. “I’m sorry you miss them.”

“Yeah.”

“Is… is it home here, too?”

Danny’s confusion must show plainly on his face, because Steve continues, “I was wondering… I mean, I know nothing can replace your family or Jersey, but is it home here, too. Could you, I mean do you, you know, you always talk about going home, but do you ever feel home right now? Here? With me?”

He understands then; and for a moment, he’s tempted to joke about the pineapple infested rock of an island, but something in the nakedness of Steve’s face makes him stop. “I’m not sure,” he starts, and he aches as Steve crumbles. “Wait. Just wait, let me finish. Let me think how to say it.”

“No, I get it, you don’t have to explain. Hellhole, middle of the ocean, pineapple infestation, I got the drill, Danno…you hate it here. I get it.”

Danny leans across the seat and clamps a hand over Steve’s mouth, watching the other boy’s eyes widen. “Not what I was gonna say, if you’d just shut up a second and let me get my thoughts together, Jesus.”

Steve licks his palm and he yanks his hand back with a yelp. “Cheating,” he grumbles. 

“Okay, no more cheating. So what are you thinking?”

“I’m trying to tell you, the idea of home, I guess this is kind of home, now, because of you and your mom and dad, and Mary too I guess. I never… I never think of home as the place itself. Home is the people, do you see what I’m saying? I miss Jersey, yeah, the boardwalk and the smells and the asphalt and the skyscrapers, for sure. But if Gracie and my Ma lived in Idaho? I’d miss cows and wide open spaces and snow and mountains. So I guess, home is where people are that you love, so I miss my people more than the place. I miss my Ma and Gracie. And when I go back to Jersey, I’ll miss my Hawaii ‘home’ because I’ll be missing you.”

Steve doesn’t say anything and Danny shrinks back into the seat. “So, you know, whatever, the girls are right and I’m a giant sap and you can go ahead and make fun of me now.”

Steve puts the car in park, turns off the ignition, and crawls across the armrest till he’s straddling Danny’s lap. Cupping Danny’s face in his hands, he says, “I think that’s probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Danny’s mouth curls into a smile on its own. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I love you, Danny.”

“I love you too. It’s Christmas in Hawaii and I’ve already gotten my first present. And I even got it early.”

Steve kisses him gently, a brush of lips, squirming in Danny’s lap till they’re both panting and breathless. “You want to sleep in my room with me tonight?” 

Danny’s smile widens. “You’re sure we aren’t going to get caught?”

Steve shrugs. “We’ll just put out our school books and if anyone asks, we were studying too late and just fell asleep for convenience.”

“Naked?”

Steve giggles. “I didn’t say anything about naked.”

“Oh. My bad. I guess I was thinking about you naked.”

Steve slants his mouth across Danny’s. “Maybe that can be arranged…”

**Chapter 15**

“ _OH MY GOD, WAKE UP! IT’S CHRISTMAS!!_ ”

Steve shoots off his bed at his sister’s bellowing, scrambles to pull on a tee-shirt and readjust his sleep pants from where they tangle around his legs. Above his room, he can hear Danny moving around in the loft and he grins to himself, thrilled to be able to give his lover the gift he’d purchased.

He rolls out of bed, stretches, and pads to the bathroom to relieve himself. As he’s tucking his dick back into his sleep pants, the door opens and Danny yawns at him. “Move or so help me, I’ll piss on your foot.”

Steve snickers; Danny’s legendary for being non-morning friendly. “Morning to you too, gorgeous.”

Danny makes a face and untucks and Steve slips out the door, because okay, he loves the guy, but wanting to suck his dick and watch him piss are two very different things, and never should the two meet. Besides, he could just see Mary or his Mom’s face as he’s in the bathroom with Danny at the same time. They’ve been hiding the relationship from both of them this far, but sharing the bathroom would probably blow their cover.

He heads downstairs in time to see his mother straightening the last few decorations on the tree, lining up presents – wow, were there ever a LOT of presents! – in front of the fake pine. “Good morning, sweetheart,” Vivian says, hugging him. “Sleep well?”

Steve nods and sits on the couch; he can already smell the traditional holiday egg-Swiss-red pepper strata from the kitchen and his mouth waters. “How long until breakfast?”

“About half an hour. Your father and I thought you three might want to open a few things first.”

Steve looks at the piles and suddenly he can’t breathe, because there are _piles_ and he only bought Danny one thing and…

“Stevie, stop,” his mother says, leaning over to hug him. “He’s got plenty to open, too. Dad and I took care of it.”

Steve doesn’t ask how she knows, because she’s always known everything he thinks, and he simply slumps into her embrace because he loves her that much. “Thanks Mom.”

She kisses his hair. “It’s okay. Just… oh! Look who decided to join us.”

And Steve melts when Danny walks into the living room, his feet bare and adorable as he shifts from side to side. Danny’s all sorts of awkward thanks to the way Vivian’s hugging Steve and Jack’s hugging Mary. “Hi,” he says, softly. “Um… good morning?”

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” Vivian says to Danny. And with that, she’s off the couch, pulling Danny into a loving hug and squeezing him till his shoulders drop and his body relaxes. “Why don’t you sit on the sofa next to Steven and we can open a few packages, hmm? You never know what Santa brought.”

“Mom, there’s no such thing as Santa,” Mary snarks, and Steve rolls his eyes at his sister. 

His annoyance dissipates when Danny’s sleep-warm body drops next to his own. They share a smile and it’s all Steve can do not to lean over and kiss him hello. Instead, they lean into each other, shoulders and thighs touching in comfort.

“Mary Ann McGarrett, don’t you dare say such a thing,” his mother scolds, breaking the moment. “Santa’s just as real as love and compassion and kindness. Just remember, even though you can’t see it…”

“…doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” Mary and Steve chime. They grin at each other even as Vivian shakes her head.

“Monsters!” she sighs, but she’s smiling. “Do I say that every year?”

“Maybe,” Mary says, and laughs. “I know, Mom. Santa’s in our hearts.”

“Well, then maybe you’ll want those presents anyway,” Vivian huffs, and sits on the chair closest to the tree. “Danny, sweetheart, did you want to start with one of yours first?”

Danny looks at her like she just announced the world was flat. “M… me?”

“Yes, you. Do you want the first present?”

Steve nudges Danny. “Go on, normally Mary gets the first present and it takes her forever to open it.”

“Just because I don’t like messing up the paper doesn’t mean I take forever,” she shoots back. “It’s not my fault you look at presents like they’re a bomb to be disabled as fast as possible or they’re going to explode.”

“Children,” Vivian says, and they fall silent, glaring at each other until Vivian adds, “Danny, honey, come here and open a package, all right? Before those two spend the entire morning squawking like seagulls?”

Danny’s still a little shell-shocked, but he gets up and sits on the floor next to Vivian. She hands him a brightly-wrapped package and he takes it. After staring at it for a couple minutes, he tears into the paper and opens the box. He blinks at the gift, then swallows thickly and says, “I… I can’t take this, it’s… it’s too much, you should have spent the money on something else, I…”

“Oh, sweetheart, don’t you worry about the cost. That’s for us grown-ups to worry about, and I assure you it’s just the right gift for you. I know you have an old, battered pair upstairs?”

Danny pulls the baseball cleats out of the box and stares at them with such reverence that Steve finds himself blinking back tears of happiness. “I think they’re the right size, Danno. It was hard to snoop through your stuff since you’re always around. I had to wait till you were outside in the garage and ninja my way into your loft. It was very high-tech, I’m sorry you missed it.”

The teasing is just what snaps the awestruck look on Danny’s face; he smiles a smile so bright that Steve’s breath catches. Suddenly, Danny’s up on his knees and laughing, hugging Vivian tightly and gasping, “These are so awesome! Thanks, Mom!”

The whole room freezes; Steve’s heart leaps from his chest because yes, this is totally okay in his book, that the person he loves most in the world should love his Mom, and that his Mom should love Danny just as much…

Danny’s backpedalling, though, and says, “I mean, Mrs. M. Not Mom, jeez, I don’t know what I was thinking, I’m sorry I…”

But Vivian doesn’t let him go and doesn’t stop smiling or hugging him. “Danny, I’d be very happy to be your Mom while you’re here. If that’s what you’re comfortable calling me. I’d be honored to hold the title of Hawaiian Mom.”

Danny blushes and shoots a glance at Steve and Jack; Steve beams at him helplessly, and Jack grins. “Does that make me Hawaiian Dad? I’m not sure about that, it sounds like a soda pop. But Dad’s okay.”

Then it’s laughter, even from Mary who, for once, isn’t making Steve’s blood pressure rise, and it’s happy Christmas till the oven timer beeps announcing breakfast. 

They eat too fast and both Jack and Vivian try to slow them down, but in the face of more presents the adults are outnumbered, outgunned, and not fighting it too hard. More packages are opened; Steve ends up with a new wetsuit and Mary gets a gift card for a day spa. There are squeals of delight and plenty of laughter and smiles and jokes being tossed around the room like confetti. 

Danny gives Steve’s parents a ‘taste of Jersey’; Grace helped Danny assemble some of their grandmother’s recipes and emailed them, and Danny dutifully printed them out and took them to a local copier to be bound into a cookbook. “From the William’s family,” he says, and Vivian’s enamored by his gift from the heart. 

Mary receives movie tickets and Danny gives Steve a journal. It’s gorgeous; brown leather wrapped unlined pages with gold-leaf edges and a leather strap tie closure. When Steve gives him a confused smile, Danny says, “Open the front cover.”

He does; the book’s dedicated, “To Steven”, and the first ten pages are filled with Danny’s long-hand script describing to Steve how much Steve means to him. Or, at least, Steve gathers this much after reading half a page, because his heart gets caught in his throat and he has to close the book rather quickly. Danny gives him a shy smile. “I figured, my journal was the reason we met in the first place, so now maybe it’s time for a new one.”

Steve wants to say so much; wants to pull the other boy into his arms and kiss him hard, but he settles for a shoulder bump and a “thanks, Danno. This is cool.” 

It’s not sentimental enough to suit him, but Danny seems to understand perfectly anyway. They grin at each other and for a minute it’s just the two of them in the living room with the tree and the carols and…

“Jeez, you two are so gay for each other,” Mary snorts. “Knock it off, Steven, before Cat beats Danny up for poaching on what’s hers.”

Danny covers his mouth and starts giggling, because yes, it seems that they still have Mary fooled. But when Steve meets his mother’s eyes, she’s giving him a fond look, and Steve knows she knows.

Huh. He guesses he could’ve stayed in the bathroom with Danny earlier and it wouldn’t have mattered.

Steve’s attention gets pulled back to the present as he watches his Dad and Mom exchange gifts; he and Mary and Danny annihilate the rest of their presents, and finally he hands a small box to Danny for him to open. “From me,” he says.

The blonde smiles and unwraps the package; he opens it and sees the scrawling “Equipe” logo on the presentation case. Danny lifts his head. “Steve?”

“Open it.”

Danny pries the box open and gasps; the watch’s black face with the white dial gleams up at him. Danny knows it must’ve cost Steve a fortune, from the wide band to the multiple ticking parts. “Steve?”

“It’s the Octane 108,” Steve says. At Danny’s continued silence, he adds, “It’s got dual time zones, so… you know, you can set one time for Hawaii and one for Jersey. And I thought you’d like the rubber watch band, cause it would fit comfortably instead of that leather cuff. And… uh, on the back?”

Danny turns the watch over, and engraved on the back, it says, _So U R always home, 143 Steven_.

“Do you like it?” Steve hesitates to ask.

Danny lifts his gaze, and Steven can see the love in his eyes shine for all the world to see. “Yeah, I. Yeah. It’s perfect. It’s fucking gorgeous. I’ve never gotten a gift like this in my life.”

Steve’s grin spreads from ear-to-ear. “That’s awesome! I knew you’d love it, I found it on E-Bay, I was so excited because you could keep track of Hawaii and Jersey at the same time and…”

Steve prattles on, beaming as Danny unsnaps the leather cuff and wraps the watch band around his wrist. He fills with a sense of possessive pride and leans back into the couch, satisfied. It’s not like he can brand Danny or hang a sign that says “Property of Steven J. McGarrett”, but the watch is a good start.

“Well,” Jack drawls, taking his attention away from Danny and the gift. “I think that finishes up the gift exchange. Steven, Danny, why don’t you boys clear away the boxes and gift wrap? Mary, you can load and start the dishwasher. Your Mom and I are going to go set up the lanai table for games.”

“Games?” Danny asks.

Mary replies to the question. “Yeah, games. We play Christmas trivia, drink cider, goof off. Normally Dad and Steve throw a football around for a while, so I’m sure you can get in on that action.”

Danny nods; the different members of the family disappear into the house, leaving Steve and Danny to clean up the mounds of paper and boxes. “I’ll take left, you take right?” Steve offers.

“Yeah,” Danny says. He doesn’t move from his space on the couch, though, and Steve flops next to him. 

“You okay, Danno?”

Danny glances toward the kitchen; Mary’s diligently stacking dishes into the washer, her back to them. “I just wanted to say thanks for my present,” he whispers against Steve’s mouth, kissing him quickly. “This is the most amazing thing, it’s like having you with me all the time.”

Steve grins. “You can even wear it in the shower, cause it’s waterproof to 300 feet.”

“Well, I don’t think I’ll ever have reason to test that, but cool.” Danny shoves himself to his feet. “This is one of the best Christmases I’ve ever had. I mean, Christmas at home, most of the time Ma worked because she got holiday pay and it was just me and Gracie and some black and white movie on TV. It’s not even the gifts; I can’t remember the last time I was around a family that loved each other like this, had a special breakfast and special games and stuff…”

“We’re pretty unique,” Steve says. 

“Yeah, but in a good way.”

Steve hugs the smaller boy and moves to attack the pile of wrapping at the base of the tree. They clear the mess as quickly as possible so they can head outside for games and hot cider and Christmas cheer. But before they leave the living room – before Steve can lose his nerve – he says, “Danny?”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe one day, we’ll make some traditions of our own, you and me.”

Danny doesn’t respond, but the blush and grin is all the answer Steve needs.

**Chapter 16**

January and February pass in the blink of an eye, and suddenly it’s March in Hawaii. Thoughts of going home to Jersey have mutated into family dinners with the McGarrett’s and playing baseball for the school team and getting his grades up. Except Jersey lingers in the background; a real possibility of return, providing his Ma can get the money together sometime over the summer. Because while Danny’s come to think of the McGarrett’s as his second family, he senses his mother’s shame at the knowledge of someone other than family raising her son – whether or not Frank and Emma help pay for him.

Everyone at school thinks he’s been taken over by a pod-person. Steven and Jack know better; know this is the guy he’d been all along, and no one had ever given him the chance before. And while he’s slowly come around to being a nicer (less angry) guy with some friends in Cat and Kono and Chin, he still can’t help missing Grace and his mom and Vincent.

“Hey. You’re thinking too hard over there.”

Danny lifts his gaze from his history book, scowling at Steve. “I’m trying not to fail my test tomorrow. Or, you know, grades in jeopardy for being able to play baseball for the rest of the spring.”

“We wouldn’t want that.”

Danny sticks out his tongue at the other boy, who ignores it and sits next to him on his bed. “Any chance I could talk you into fooling around instead?”

The blonde folds down the ear of the page he’s reading and none-too-gently tosses the book to the floor. “Absolutely. C’mere.”

Steve grins and stretches out next to Danny, rubbing their noses together and stealing kisses. “I pulled up the ladder to the loft and closed the catch,” he says, mischief written across his face. “Dad’s in the garage, and Mary’s at Patty’s, and Mom’s at the store.”

“So we’re alone?” 

“Pretty much.”

“Should I fear for my innocence?”

Steve bites down on Danny’s earlobe and slides a hand down the blonde’s body to palm at his crotch. “Absolutely,” he parrots back. When Danny groans, he adds, “But we probably should be quiet, just in case.”

“Then I better find something to put in my mouth as a gag.”

It’s Steve’s turn to groan and Danny grins, shifting so that he’s on top of the bigger boy. He scoots backwards on the bed, unbuttoning and unzipping Steve’s fly until his thick cock spills free. He arches an eyebrow. “Commando?”

“I was coming up here to molest you. Underwear seemed unnecessary.”

Danny chuckles and bends over Steve’s dick. Further commentary is postponed as he sucks the organ into his mouth, letting the head bump the back of his throat. Steve, he notices, muffles his moans in the pillows. 

Sucking leads to more kissing, which leads to both of them with their cocks out, half-undressed, spent and sweaty. As they get their breathing back, Steve pulls Danny to his chest and says, “It gets better every time we do this.”

“Especially since you figured out how not to use teeth.”

Steve whaps him on the shoulder and he yelps. “What? It’s true…”

“Shut up,” Steve says, blushing hotly. “I figured it out, okay? It’s not like I had previous experience, like some people.”

Danny narrows his gaze. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you should be better at this than I am. Which, you totally are. I still can’t feel my kneecaps.”

Appeased, Danny relaxes. “Huh. That kinda sounded like you were calling me a slut.”

“Well…”

And then it’s Steve’s turn to yelp as Danny smacks him upside the head. “Steven J. McGarrett! See if you ever get any again!”

They wrestle, spilling off the bed and onto the floor. The resounding _THUMP_ makes them both flinch and hurriedly pull their clothes together, just in case anyone in the house heard the crash. After a few minutes of silence, they relax, giggling to themselves. “So, history?”

“Yeah. It’s so boring,” Danny laments, propping himself up against Steve. “Who’s gonna need this any time in the future?”

“I know, it sucks. I hate history, too.” Steve takes a moment to kiss Danny’s head. “You want help studying?”

“No, because with you, they’ll be no studying done. I’ll be too busy wanting you naked.”

Steve blushes, something Danny never tires of. “Whatever. I can totally help you study without nudity. I’m pretty smart, you know.”

“I know, nerd boy. You’re also athletic and charming and sweet, and all the girls wanna take you home to their mommies ‘cause you’re wonderful.”

“Well, they can’t have me, cause I’m yours,” Steve replies, and nudges the other boy. “And you love me despite my nerd-ness.”

Danny grins. “Nerd-ness? Yes, Steven, I love you despite your nerd-ness. In fact, I think it’s the nerd-ness that makes me love you the most.”

They grin goofily at each other, until Steve asks, “So would you if you could?”

“Would I what?”

“Take me home to meet your Mom because I’m wonderful.”

Danny pauses, tilts his head to one side. He studies Steve, who flushes under the scrutiny. “What?” Steve asks.

“I can’t believe you had to ask me that. I’d take you home with me tomorrow if I could, introduce you to Grace and my Ma. I know, whether she approved of my preference or not, she’d love you. You’re practically perfect.”

“I’m not perfect,” Steve protests, but Danny shuts him up with a kiss. “I’m not.”

“I said practically. Besides, yeah. If I could take you home with me to meet my family, I would.”

“Do you think Grace would like me?”

“I know she’d love you. Because it was you who saw me, who really saw me and cared about me and you saved me. You saved me by loving me and you trusted me when you had no reason to. Even if I hadn’t fallen for you? I’d still probably love you a little.”

They cling to each other, Danny rubbing circles on Steve’s thigh, Steve nuzzling Danny’s ear. “The school year’s coming to an end.”

It seems Steve’s thoughts run parallel to his own. “I know. I was thinking about that when you came in,” Danny admits.

“Not history?”

“Not history.”

Steve leans back. “So, I was thinking…”

He hesitates and Danny raises an eyebrow at him. He mumbles, “I was kinda wondering if, maybe, when your Mom sends you money to get home, if you wouldn’t mind some company for a while?”

Danny doesn’t know what to say. Finally, he sputters, “What?”

“I’ve got some money saved up, maybe borrow from my college fund, that maybe I could afford to fly out with you, maybe stay a few days if you’d be willing to let me crash at your place, maybe help you get settled back in to your home or carry luggage or…”

Danny places two fingers over Steve’s lips. “Steven… I can’t. I can’t believe you’d even offer, that’s…”

“I love you,” Steve cuts him off. “I don’t… I don’t want you to leave at all, I want you to stay, stay here, spend senior year with me here and then maybe afterwards…”

“Afterwards, you’re going to end up with a scholarship to some college to make you more brilliant, and I’m going to get a job so I can help support Grace and my Ma,” Danny says. “And it’s not fairy tales for us, Steve. You know that, right? I love you, but this? This is going to end at some point, right, because…”

“You don’t fucking know that!” Steve explodes, furiously. He sits up and pulls away from Danny, stumbling to the other side of the room. “You don’t fucking know that, maybe if you stayed it would be different, it wouldn’t be an ending, just a continuation! I’ll say it a thousand times if I have to, I know what this is between us and you’re it for me!” Danny holds his hands out to appease. “Steve, when we started this, you knew what I thought – you knew I knew you were gonna leave, gonna be something amazing and it was going to be Vincent all over again. And I know it’s going to break my heart, but I let it happen – I wanted to love you and I do and I don’t regret a single second, but you coming with me to Jersey? Why do you want to prolong the agony of saying goodbye?”

“Fucking fine, then! Why the hell are we even bothering until the end of the summer? Or the end of the school year? I mean, Jesus Danny, why don’t we just say fuck it right now? Because then it won’t hurt so much. Unless you already have it planned – just keep fucking around with me now, get me out of your system, and then out of sight out of mind. And back to perfect Jersey and everything you really want that isn’t Hawaii.”

“Steven…”

But Steve’s down the stairs before he can blink, trap door slamming behind him. Danny curses long and loud before flopping down on his bed. “I don’t need to deal with this,” he snaps at the air. “Fuck you, Steven. Fuck you very much.”

He doesn’t think about anything else until suddenly the alarm clock’s going off next to him; the evening somehow turns into morning, and fuck. He still hasn’t finished studying for his history test.

Danny leaps off the bed and groans; he’d fallen asleep sitting up and his back aches. The rest of the morning is progressively worse; Mary overstays her time in the bathroom and he has to rush and ends up missing part of breakfast. While Mary runs out the door to get into Victor’s car, he follows Steve obediently to the Marquis. 

Worst of all, Steve ignores him the entire way to school, despite his repeated attempts to apologize. 

“Steven…” 

“I don’t want to hear it.” 

“Please, I just…” 

Steve slams on the brake, causing other cars to go fishtailing around them. “I don’t fucking want to hear it! Look, you don’t want to think about this as a future thing? Fine. Just don’t keep dicking me around in the meantime because I can’t deal with loving you so hard and knowing you’re okay with leaving me behind. It makes you no better than Vincent, did you know that? No better.” 

The comment makes Danny’s heart hurt so badly that he doesn’t have a response. He simply sinks back into the worn leather car seat and stares out the window the rest of the way. 

The morning is intolerable. Lunch is intolerable, and since everyone can sense the tension between him and Steve, they tend to ignore the both of them. English is the worst because Steve sits next to him; the taller boy stares rigidly ahead, never once acknowledging his existence. 

A knock on the classroom door is the only break in the silence; a T.A. comes in, hands a note to Mr. Neale, and disappears. Neale reads it, frowns, and looks up. 

Directly at him. 

“Mr. Williams? The principal would like to see you in his office, young man. Bring all your things.” 

Danny’s heart plummets to his feet. “Wh… why?” 

“On your way, Mr. Williams.” 

He chances a look at Steve; Steve meets his gaze and shrugs, then looks away. Great. So Steve doesn’t know why he’s been summoned, either. He picks up his books and his knapsack and heads for the door, closing it quietly behind him and walking down the hall. 

Christ. He’d only recently gotten over the fear of the principal’s office; he takes a deep breath before pushing open the door to the room. 

People are standing in his way; two men in dark suits, and a woman who looks exactly like… “Ma?” 

The woman turns and Christ on a crutch – he’s moving before he knows what to do with himself, wraps his arms around her waist and sobs, “Ma…” 

She hugs him back. “Shh, Daniel, shh… it’s okay, I’m really here.”

“Mama,” he says, reverting back to his childhood name for her, before it no longer became cool to say and before she hated him. “Why are you here? What’s going on? I thought… I thought you wanted to wait, till you could…”

“Daniel, shh,” she says again, and she’s petting his face to wipe the tears away. The principal leads the group to a conference room and closes the door behind them to give them some privacy. “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. So sorry I didn’t believe you, when you told me the truth and I didn’t trust you, God baby. My Daniel, I’m so sorry…”

“Is this your son, Mrs. Williams?” one of the suits asks, causing Danny to flinch in on himself.

“Yes, this is Daniel. Daniel, these are Agents Smith and Stewart. They work for the FBI.”

Danny yanks himself backwards from the three of them. “I didn’t do anything!” he pleads, backing away. “Ma, what…”

She reaches for him, saying, “No! No, you’re not in trouble, Daniel. You’re not in trouble, do you understand? They’re on your side.”

Danny stops, stares at them. Glares at them all. “What do you mean, on my side? What happened?”

She cups his face in her hands, says, “Honey, listen to me. These men, they’re heading the investigation of an assistant principal at your school. Your old school, he got caught on camera molesting a young boy in a public park. They need your help, your testimony to make sure this man goes to jail.”

Danny sways on his feet; his mother helps him sit down before he falls. “Mr. Capelli?”

“That’s correct,” one of the agents says. “Your former principal alerted us to the fact that you’d also had a confrontation with Anthony Capelli. When we approached your mother to help us, she told us you were in Hawaii. The federal government would be happy to pay for your trip home in exchange for your testimony in court.” 

Danny stews for a minute, staring at his mother and the two men in front of him. “You got him… on film?”

“Yes,” said the other suit. “We need your help, Daniel. Can we depend on you?”

Danny shakes his head no, shocking all of them. “If you have him on tape, then you really don’t need me, do you?”

The men glance at each other; finally, the first one says, “I thought you’d be happy to redeem yourself. Have that juvenile record cleared?”

Danny snorts. “Is that what I get in exchange for my help? Because the way I remember it, I got hauled off to jail because no one – not even my own mother – believed me. In fact –“ and here he gets to his feet, waving an arm – “in fact, the first thing that happened to me was that I got shipped off halfway across the world, to people I didn’t know, to _get rid of me like I was trash_. Because you know it’s going to come up, that I had a boyfriend. Any attorney would try to find out my past, they’re gonna smear me all over the place, fucking eat me alive…”

“Daniel!” his mother gasps, covers her mouth with one hand. “Daniel, stop! There’s no need for you to say such things, it won’t matter!”

“It won’t matter that I’m queer?” Danny shoots back. He stares at the two men, fists clenched and jaw trembling. “Tell me it won’t matter. Go ahead, lie to me.”

The dark-haired agent sits on the other side of him, puts a hand on his shoulder. “Listen to me, son. It wouldn’t matter who or what you wanted, do you understand? A teacher, an authority figure, a grown man put you in a position you never should’ve been in, not until you were old enough to make those decisions for yourself. And if you punched him in self-defense, don’t you owe it to yourself to see him get prison time? And don’t you owe it to yourself to set the record straight, to open those doors that could’ve been closed for college?”

Danny buries his face in his hands, unsure what to say or do. He looks at his mother, who just shakes her head and says, “I made a mistake, Daniel. I can’t undo it, but I can try and do the right thing by you from now on. Can you forgive me? Won’t you please come home?”

He wraps his arms around her and hugs her, willing to forgive her almost anything because he loves his mother, and the idea that she hated him almost killed him. “I love you, Ma.”

“I love you too, baby. I always did, I just didn’t know how to handle any of it. I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t exactly earning your trust, either.”

She smiles at him. “The agents have already talked to the McGarretts, earlier this morning. They’re going to pack all of your things for you and ship them home, but we’ve got a plane to catch, okay? We’ve got to leave now.”

The world comes crashing in on him again. “Now? Right now? But… but! I’ve got a history test in like, twenty minutes, and I haven’t even gotten a chance to say goodbye to… to my friends, and…”

“You can call them when we get home, all right? It’ll be okay, but we’ve got to go. I promise you, Danny, everything will be all right when we get home.”

“But the last thing I said to Steve…”

She tilts her head, looks at him, and he blinks back the sudden swell of tears. “Maybe it’s easier this way,” he says, smile forced onto his face so she won’t see his heart break in front of her. “Clean break, right? I’ll send them emails and call when I get home.”

His mother nods and helps him gather the few things he has in his possession, and leads him from the room without another word.

**Chapter 17**

“I’m sure he didn’t have a choice, Steven.”

Steve hangs his head, slumps further back into the deck chair on the lanai. “I’m sure,” he mocks, bitterness strung into every syllable. “I’m sure he didn’t have five minutes to come back to class, to ask me to step outside and tell me what happened.”

Jack sits in the chair across from him and stares into his tear-stained face. “Your mother took Mary for ice cream,” Jack says. “So you and I could talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Steve replies. He wipes his nose with the back of his hand. “He’s gone! Back to Jersey! Never to come back to this... this pineapple-infested pile of rock in the middle of nowhere.”

“Steven…”

“It’s better this way, right? I mean, instead of spending the next couple months dreading the day his mom would get enough money to fly him home, it’s a clean break. Like ripping off the Band-Aid! I mean, he already knew…”

And talking about it to his dad, no matter how much he loved the older man, is something he couldn’t do. He couldn’t talk to anyone about how much the blonde boy’s leaving killed him, tore out his guts and turned him into walking, talking heartache. 

“He knew your affair would come to an end, and you’d both be hurting from it.”

Steve’s head snaps up and he stares at Jack wide-eyed. “How did you…?”

Jack shakes his head. “Do you really think your mother and I are blind? That I wouldn’t cotton on to the fact that you and Danny were intimate? We’re a little bit smarter than high school students, Steven. Even if your friends didn’t know – and I suspect some of them did – your mother and I were certainly aware of your feelings. It’s better to talk about it, son. If you don’t, it’ll only fester up and bleed you away from the inside out. Heartbreak isn’t easy, and I know right now you feel like you’ll never fall in love again…”

“I won’t,” Steve says adamantly. “I’m never falling in love with anyone again, because I don’t want anyone else to know I’m queer and it’s not worth it. It’s not worth it, Dad! I mean, the last words Danny and I spoke to each other were in anger, we had a fight last night because he didn’t want to fight for us after he went home! He’s probably… he’s probably so happy that he got to go back, so happy that he doesn’t have to deal with me anymore!!!”

“That’s not true. Don’t lie to yourself because it won’t help in the long run.”

“How the fuck would you know?”

Steve pales when Jack’s face turns from ‘understanding parent’ to ‘unhappy parent’. “Steven James McGarrett, you’ll watch that tone with me.”

Steve deflates. “Sorry, Dad. I just… I just don’t know. I don’t know what to say or do anymore, not sure what to feel. It’s like the last six months never happened, like I dreamed it up or something.”

“That’s because you gave your whole heart to someone and it was perfect,” Jack says, and smiles softly. “I felt that way about your mother when I met her. But you have to understand, I met a couple girls along the way to your mom that I thought I’d never get over.”

Steve lifts his head. “You did?”

“Did I,” Jack replies, chuckling. “Sheila Anston, the girl who sat in front of me in college algebra. She left my heart in tiny pieces, and I never thought I’d get over her. Eventually I did.”

“But I don’t want to get over him. I just… I just want him back.”

Jack sighs. He leans back and picks something up off of the table, something Steve hadn’t noticed before. “Stevie, what do you say to skipping school tomorrow?”

Steve gapes. Because there’s no way he’s seeing a bottle of Jim Beam in his father’s hand, no way he sees two shot glasses. “Um, Dad?”

“When I got my heart broken, my very best friends decided that the best way to sleep the first night was to get me extremely intoxicated. I felt like hell for two days, but it helped in the long run. Now, I know you could probably go to Chin’s and his cousins would sneak you guys booze. But if you’re going to break the rules, I’d rather you break them here in front of me, so I can keep an eye on you. Got it?”

“Yeah,” Steve says. He takes the shot from Jack’s hand and puts it to his mouth. “Thanks.”

The first shot nearly kills him; he chokes and coughs half of it back up, and Jack laughs at his expense. “Easy there. Maybe sip at it till you get used to the taste.” 

The second shot is much easier, as is the third; by the time Steve hits the fourth shot, it slides down his throat like velvet. He’s a sniffling, sobbing mess and Jack sits with him, rubbing his back, listening to him babble about Danny. “I just don’t get it,” he says. “It’s like, some really freaky twist of fate or something, that we fight about him going home in the summer and today he leaves without either of us knowing it.” 

“So maybe tomorrow, when you’re sober and thinking more clearly, you call him and check in on him,” Jack says. “Because pretending the relationship didn’t happen won’t work. And it’ll give you some sort of closure between you. You can say goodbye.” 

“I don’t want to say goodbye,” Steve sulks. He leans against his father for support. “I don’t want it to be over, Dad. He was supposed to be here through the end of my junior year. I was gonna try and talk him into staying for his senior year, too. We would’ve had prom, and grad night, and all the awesomeness of being seniors. I was gonna teach him to surf and he was gonna finish that journal with me.” 

“Journal?” 

“He gave me a journal for Christmas, remember?” Steve asks. When Jack nods, he continues, “We…we wrote each other things. Private things, back and forth. It was something his first boyfriend did with him, they shared their secrets together and that’s what he and I were doing. We were supposed to fill the whole book together, and it’s not done yet. It’s like the whole relationship’s not done yet.” 

“Stevie, it’s done. You need to accept that.” 

“I can’t.” 

Jack sighs. “What can I do to help?” 

“I dunno,” Steve replies. He rubs his face. “M’tired.” 

“Okay, kiddo. Bed for you.” 

Jack helps Steve stumble up the stairs. As he deposits Steve on the bed, Jack says, “Think about what you realistically need from Danny, what you need for closure. That’ll be the only way your heart will heal.” 

Steve rolls onto his side and away from his father. “I just really wish I’d had the chance to say goodbye to his face.” 

As Jack closes the door, Steve punches at his pillow. The action stirs up a smell; fabric softener, and the smell of Danny’s shampoo. Steve inhales deeply and when he sleeps, he can almost feel the other boy next to him. It’s heaven. 

Until the next morning, when he sits up and wants to vomit immediately. Steve groans as his stomach rolls in like a tidal wave. He heaves himself out of the bed, stumbles to the bathroom, and retches.

“Stevie?”

He groans. “Go ‘way.”

Jack chuckles. “Come on, kiddo. Your mother’s made you some dry toast.”

“Wanna die here.”

“Not today.”

Steve lifts his head from the toilet bowl and glares at his father. “Cannit wait till tomorrow?”

“Nope. Come on, I don’t want to see you collapse and drown in your own vomit. Let’s get you into the shower and see what we can do about sobering you up.” 

Steve begrudgingly gets up, strips down, and all but trips into the shower. He stands under the spray and sighs, lathering shampoo into his hair and groaning. Once clean, he wraps himself in a towel, walks back to his bed and collapses upon it.

The motion makes him heave until his nose catches a whiff of Danny’s smell again. Damn it. He knows that scent memory’s a funny thing, puts a ball in the pit of his stomach. “Maybe that’s what I’ll use as my thesis when I apply to Cal Tech,” he muses.

And then he sits up straight like an arrow, wincing as his head and stomach both protest the movement. “That’s it!” he exclaims, grabbing for a pair of boxers and shorts. 

Fifteen minutes later, Jack returns, and he’s not thrilled. “Steven, I thought I told you…”

The sentence trails off as he sees Steve sitting at his computer, staring at the screen. “What are you doing?”

“Did you know Cal Tech has fourteen different scholarships offered for the chemical engineering program?”

Jack flounders in the doorway and Steve continues, “Dad. There are hundreds of scholarships available. And my football scholarship?”

“Yes, but what…”

“I want to take a loan out. Against my college fund. Would you do that?”

Jack shakes his head. “I’m not following you this time, son. Care to spell it out for me?”

“Dad, I want to borrow money from my college fund, I want to be able to use it to buy a plane ticket and go _see Danny_ and… and set things to right. Either to end it or…”

“Or?”

Steve turns around; he knows he looks like shit from the alcohol, knows he’s crying. “Or maybe talk him into coming back.”

“Steven…”

Steve wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. “Please? I haven’t, I really haven’t ever asked for anything, have I? Always tried to stay out of trouble as much as I could, never tried to be greedy, and I never was too horrible to Mary? This is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me and I need to see it through. Please, I need… you always told me that no man can call himself a man if he doesn’t see things through to the end. You _told_ me that, Dad, and I know that Danny’s it for me. Even if I have to convince him that he can trust me, that I’ll stick with him, I have to go to Jersey and see this through.”

Steve crumbles into sobs and Jack wraps his arms around his son. “Jesus, Steven,” he says, kissing Steve’s head and patting him on the back. “Hush. Hush now.”

“What’s going on in here?”

Steve jerks his head up as his mom walks in, awkward and embarrassed by his reactions. “Nothing,” he mumbles.

“I don’t think it’s ‘nothing’, honey,” she says. She sits on the bed and stares at the two of them. “Want to tell me about it?”

Steve doesn’t say anything for a minute but knows he’s going to tell her. Even if he didn’t, Jack would. “I want to borrow money from my college fund,” he says. “To go to Jersey. To talk to Danny. To try to talk him in to coming back or at least be able to say goodbye to him.”

“Sweetheart, that money was a gift from your grandparents, so you could go to school when you graduate. The same for Mary.”

“I know, Mom. But I was looking online, there are so many scholarships I could apply for to replace what I borrow. I just. I know I have to do this. I need to do this.” 

“And if, for some reason, the scholarships don’t pan out?” 

“Then I’ll quit football and get a part-time job to replace it,” Steve says stubbornly. “But I bet I can get at least one or two of the scholarships, Coca-Cola sponsors one for science, I was just reading about it and…”

“You can go,” Jack says, cutting him off. 

Steve stops, half-chokes on his own tongue. “I… what?”

“You can borrow the money.” 

“But… really? I can?”

“Steven,” Jack says, and a smile plays at the corner of his mouth. “Stevie. You just said you’d throw away football. Without even a second’s hesitation. I think your mother and I both knew Danny’s important to you, we didn’t realize _how important_ he is to you.”

“So when can I go, then?”

“Here’s the deal. You’re going to go downstairs and eat that toast. And I’ll call a few of the guys at the department, see if I can get in touch with the special victims unit in Jersey, see if I can find out anything about Danny. Okay?”

Steve nods. “You’re really going to help me see this through?”

“Yes, Steven. We’re really going to see this through.”

Steve hugs his father more tightly, overwhelmed. “Thanks, Dad. Thanks, Mom.”

Once Jack releases him, Steve gets up, pulls on a shirt. He trudges down the stairs, still unsteady on his feet, but manages to sit down at the table without falling over. Vivian hands him a plate of dry toast and a short glass of Coke. “The Coke syrup will settle your tummy,” she says. “And we can talk while Dad’s on the phone, all right?”

He nods, suddenly nervous. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Danny.”

“Sure, Mom,” he says. “What do you want to know?”

She hesitates. “I know you and your Dad have discussed… intimacy issues.”

“Moo-ooom,” he says, and blushes so hard he’s afraid he’ll pop a vessel. “Mom, I am _not_ talking about… we aren’t… just, no. No, I’m not discussing intimacy with you.”

“Steven James, let me finish my question or so help me, you’re not going anywhere,” she huffs. She flushes the same way he does. “I’m not going to ask you about sex. I wanted to ask you about the other emotional aspects of your relationship with Danny. For example, do you feel he loves you? Would he want to see you if you just show up? Those kinds of questions.”

“Oh.” Steve can’t help it that his voice gets really small. “I thought you meant…”

“I didn’t.”

“Oh,” he says again. “Um. Well? I think… Danny and I had a fight the night before he left. I kind of accused him of calling me ‘boyfriend’ when he didn’t want to make it last. But it was a stupid argument, and neither of us really meant what we said.”

“Are you sure?”

Steve nods. “I know he really cares about me. He’s so… he’s such a stubborn guy, you know, he’d be the last person to ever come out and say what he feels, but he’s written it to me…”

“The journal he gave you at Christmas?”

Steve’s head snaps up. Horrified, he asks, “Did you read it?”

“Good heavens, no!” she says. “But I’m a woman, and somewhat more perceptive than your dad about romance. On Christmas morning, I could tell he wrote something wonderful in that book because of your face when you opened it. You looked like someone handed you the keys to the moon.”

“I felt that way,” he admits. “I still do. He makes me feel like I can do anything as long as he’s with me. I just, I love him that much. If he’s supposed to be in Jersey, and I’m supposed to be here, then that’s it. But I can’t let him go without fighting for him. I can’t let it end like this.”

She pats his head, sighs. “Steven, you’re already such a good man. I’m proud of you, sweetheart. One day, whether it be Danny or some other young man, you’re going to be a wonderful partner.”

“And you don’t care that Danny’s a guy?” Steve still can’t believe his luck. “You really don’t care?”

“I suppose this means I’ll have to harass your sister for my grandchildren,” she says, smiling. “But no. I don’t care at all.”

Steve hugs her more tightly than he’s ever hugged her in his life. “I love you, Mom.” 

“I love you too. Now please eat your toast before you throw up on me. That stopped being cute when you were two, honey. Really.” 

**Chapter 18** The prosecutor smiles at Danny once Danny swears to tell the truth. He sits nervously on the witness stand, fidgeting with the tie around his neck. He’s awkward and uncomfortable even though the formidable woman has spent several days coaching him and helping him battle his nerves. “Hi Danny,” she says. “Can you tell us your full name?”

“Daniel Aidan Williams.”

“And how old are you?”

“Sixteen. Almost seventeen.”

“And where have you been residing for the past six months?”

“In Hawaii.”

“Your Honor,” the defense attorney – Winkowski, a repugnant man, slick and well dressed and slimy – “Your Honor, this is all very nice, but I’m not sure why we need to hear Mr. Williams last whereabouts?”

The judge agrees and Beth Gennaro, the prosecutor, smiles at him again. “Okay, Danny, why were you sent to Hawaii?”

“My Ma sent me to live with my aunt and uncle and get me away from my friends. I got arrested for assaulting a member of the school faculty,” Danny says, and focuses on her face. He can’t look around the room because he doesn’t want to see or hear any noise from anyone else. It’s hard enough saying it to Beth, hard enough admitting ‘why’ he assaulted the man in the first place.

“And was that man Mr. Anthony Capelli?”

Danny nods. Beth adds, “Danny, you have to answer out loud, please.”

“Yes, it was Mr. Capelli.”

“Why did you punch him?”

He can feel himself trembling; he looks over at Capelli and Capelli sneers at him. It’s the same look he had when he first walked in on him and Vincent, when Capelli had seen Vince holding his hand and touching him. The same sneer Capelli wore when he’d pushed Danny into a hallway and pawed at his ass, his dick… 

“Danny?” 

“He tried to fuck me,” he blurts out, and turns crimson because of it. This was not the way he and Beth had practiced and he can’t help it, the weight of the courtroom and a _jury_ and Capelli leering at him, it presses him down till he can’t breathe from it. “I know that’s not how I’m supposed to say it, but fuck…”

“Your Honor, I ask that this witness be removed from the stand immediately,” Winkowski says. “Obviously with a statement like that, he’s been coached on what to say in order to subvert my client’s rights to due process.”

“No!” Danny says, taking a deep breath. “Please, that’s not true!”

The judge bangs his gavel and the courtroom goes silent; he studies Danny and Danny tries not to shrink into the seat. 

“Your Honor…”

The judge holds up a hand. “One moment, Ms. Gennaro. Young man, look at me.”

Danny obeys, for once doesn’t say a word. The judge asks, “Were you, in any way, told what to say today?”

“B… Beth helped me get ready to answer questions,” he says. “But I wasn’t told what to say. I just practiced saying it because…”

He trails off and the judge looks at him. “Because?” he prods.

“Because it’s hard to talk about,” he finishes. “I’m sorry I said it wrong.”

“The only thing you’re required to do, Mr. Williams, is to tell the truth. The way you tell it is completely up to you.”

Danny nods and looks back to Beth; she takes a breath to reestablish the momentum and asks, “He tried to take advantage of you?”

“Yeah. He cornered me in a classroom, said he already knew I was a faggot, and tried to put his hand down the front of my jeans.”

“And you punched him.”

Danny nods. “Yes.”

“Danny, why did Anthony Capelli call you a faggot?”

Another hurdle to jump over on the way to a ‘clean conscience’, as the FBI agents had said. He had to come out to protect himself from a difficult cross-examination. “Because it’s true.”

“You have a boyfriend?”

Sometimes the mind is a funny place. Danny knows that she’s talking about Vince – soft, sweet Vince, the gentlest and most kind boy he’s ever known. But the image that springs into his mind is all McGarrett; from the goofy smirk to the slick, salt-sprayed body to the science geek and nerd that he really is. “I had a boyfriend, but we aren’t together anymore.”

“And Anthony Capelli saw you with him.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, Danny. No further questions.”

As Beth sits down, Winkowski gets up from his seat. “Mr. Williams. May I call you Danny?”

“Sure,” Danny says, hating the man already. 

“Thanks, Danny. You say Anthony Capelli tried to touch you. Yes?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Because he saw you with another boy. Is that boy here today?”

“No,” Danny says. Because Vince left before Danny could tell him about the trial, Vince moved to Europe thanks to being a genius and an MIT attendee. “He’s away. College.”

“Convenient,” he snipes. “Danny, before the alleged assault, how did you feel about Anthony Capelli?”

Danny shrugs. “He’s a principal.”

“But not a favorite of yours, right? Actually, you’re not all that good with authority figures, are you?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“Oh, but Danny, I know,” he says. “I know that in his capacity as assistant principal, Anthony Capelli had to break up several fights during the school year where you were involved, two of which you received suspensions for. Isn’t that correct?”

“Some of the seniors…”

“That’s a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, Danny.”

“Objection, your Honor!” Beth snaps. “The witness is _not_ on trial here!”

“I’m trying to lay the framework to prove that Mr. Williams may not be telling the truth, your Honor. In order to save himself from being returned to the juvenile detention center in the future.”

“I’m not lying,” Danny says. He blushes harder as he gets more uncomfortable and embarrassed. “He tried to…!”

A fit of coughing in the back of the courtroom catches his attention and he pauses; he automatically searches for the individual responsible for the distraction and when his eyes land upon a familiar face, he freezes into a stone.

For there, standing in the back of the room leaning against the wall, is Steven J. McGarrett.

“Danny?”

He blinks but the hallucination doesn’t fade. Why is McGarrett in New Jersey? In this courtroom? Wearing a suit that makes him look about five years older and wearing a soft, fond look on his face? Why is Steve slipping out the door?

“Danny!”

He snaps out of his stupor and says, “Yes?”

Winkowski looks at him, looks to the back of the room and arches an eyebrow. “Did you not have a personal grudge against Anthony Capelli, which is why you fabricated this story to…”

“Objection! Badgering the witness!”

“Overruled,” the judge says. “Answer the question, please.”

Danny stops, thinks, takes a huge breath. He looks to the jury and quietly says, “I’ve known I was gay awhile, had my first crush when I was thirteen. Got beat up in high school for it, shoved into lockers because I’m short and people think I won’t fight. Capelli didn’t care, didn’t do anything to protect me, suspended me, and then tried to take advantage of me. So yeah, I hate the bastard. But making this up? No way. That’s why I punched him in the first place, because I just wanted him to stop. I don’t want to be taken advantage of any more.”

Winkowski opens his mouth to argue and then pauses at the determination on Danny’s face. “No more questions, your Honor.”

The judge leans over the bench and says, “This witness is dismissed. Thank you, Mr. Williams, for your time today.”

“Yes sir,” he says. And then he’s scrambling out of the seat, out of the witness stand and down the center aisle of the courtroom. He flings the doors open and hurries into the hallway, ignoring the cries of _“Danny!”_ from his mother and Grace.

He gets into the hallway, looks left and right. Nothing. He takes two steps and…

Nothing.

“Damn it,” he says, and honest-to-God kicks the floor. “Damn it.”

“Who are you damning, Danno?”

Danny stops breathing. He knows it’s every bad romance cliché, but he literally stops breathing and refuses to turn around. Because if this is some kind of trick in his mind, he’s not sure he wants it to ever be over. “I’m damning the guy who I thought showed up and then vanished into thin air. Musta been dreaming it.”

“Do you really dream about that guy?”

“Every day since I got back,” he says, and brings a hand up to cover his eyes. “You see, I love him, and I didn’t tell him goodbye, and he probably hates me now…”

Danny’s thoughts derail as a large, warm body presses up behind him and two hands land on his shoulders. “No chance of that happening. He’s pretty crazy about you, too.”

It’s all Danny needs to hear for the dams to break; the stress of the trial and the return home and his whole life being shaken up again morphs into deep, trembling sobs that explode out of his chest. He makes a noise like a wounded animal and spins around, collapsing into Steve’s warm embrace and clinging onto him. “I never thought I’d see you again, never talk to you again. Steven, Steven, oh my God, what are you doing here? Did you come for me? I thought you’d hate me because I left without saying goodbye, I never thought you’d actually come to Jersey to find me.”

“You should know me better than that,” Steve chides gently. “I told you, you’re it for me. I meant it when I said it, every time I’ve said it to you. This thing between us? It means something. It means everything. I know what I want, Danny, and it’s you. I love you like crazy and I know we’re supposed to be together.”

“Danny?”

Danny blinks, tilts his head to gaze around Steve’s bicep. Grace is there with his mother and Jack McGarrett. Jack’s talking quietly to his mother, probably filling her in on who they are and why Danny’s clinging to this… well, this complete stranger in the middle of a court hallway. 

“Danny…”

“Gracie, I want you to meet someone really important to me,” he says, clearing his throat. He disentangles himself from Steve’s grasp and says, “Grace, meet Steve. Steve, this is my baby sister Grace.”

Grace studies them, and damn her for being the smartest baby sister ever because she takes a step closer to Steve and throws her arms around him in a fierce hug. Steve looks poleaxed as she says, “Thank you. Just, thank you, Steve, for loving and protecting my big brother when he really needed someone to care about him.” 

“Gracie!” Danny protests, but no. No use, it’s not fair, it’s too late, because Steve’s grinning and hugging Grace back and damn it, damn it. They’re gonna team up against him for sure, never gonna give him a moment’s peace, never gonna let up on him and make his life seven versions of hell.

Especially as Steve replies, “Hi Grace. It’s nice to meet you, too. Do you think you can help me talk Danny into coming back to Hawaii with me, so we can finish our junior and senior years together? Because as much as Danny needed me, I think I’ve gotten to need him just as much. And he’s happy in Hawaii, Grace. He’s happy and he’s loved and I really want him to come back with me. We’ve got big plans, Danny and I.”

Grace smiles and nods; Steve leans down and whispers something in her ear, making her laugh and beam at him, and Danny is helpless – powerless – to stop the love of his life from conspiring with his baby sister.

They’re going to gang up on him like crazy, make his life seven versions of hell, all right. Maybe for a day, a week, maybe for the rest of his life.

And he honestly can’t wait. 

**Epilogue: March 29th, 2035** Catherine pushes the brim of her Lieutenant’s cap out of her eyes, wishing she’d taken a longer shore leave. Even Hawaii’s airport is beautiful, and it’s been months since she’s had a vacation to speak of. She sighs and looks at the now-tattered invitation in her hand, still hardly able to believe what it says: 

  
_You are cordially invited to the twenty-fifth anniversary party of Steven James McGarrett and Daniel Aidan Williams, March 30th, 2035.  
_   


*And 27th year together without me killing Steven.

She laughs again at the little side note written in Danny’s scribble; she hopes not everyone got the same footnote as she did. Of course, knowing Danny…

“Mom!”

Cat lifts her gaze to the handsome young man waving at her from the “Arrivals” gate. Seth is tall, dark-haired, with green eyes and a lanky build like his father. “Mom, I’m over here!”

She grabs her rolling suitcase and strides toward him, grinning from ear to ear. “Sweetheart!” she says, hugging him tightly. “Hi, sweetheart. I had no idea you were going to pick me up…”

Seth shrugs. “Dad and Danno are still at the house, freaking out about the decorations and food and stuff for tomorrow’s party. Grandma Viv and Mary and Grace are trying to keep them from murdering each other and therefore I was elected to come get you. It’s so crazy that no one saw me take Danno’s Camaro, so we’ve got a pretty sweet ride to go home in.”

Cat laughs. “Wonderful. I can’t wait to see everybody.”

‘Everybody’ includes Grace’s husband Chris and their son Max; Chin and his wife Malia; Kono and her husband Alec; Mary’s husband David and the twins; Jack and Vivian McGarrett and Lucy Williams, Danny’s mother; and the rest of the high school/college/family they have in Hawaii. And probably half the damn island, knowing how popular the policeman and the teacher are. The McGarrett-Williams barbeques are a thing of legend, according to Kono and Mary…

“I’m glad you could get the time off, Mom.”

“Me too,” she says, shaking her head to clear it and following Seth out of the airport. “I still can’t believe you’re old enough to drive, though. And I can’t believe either of your fathers would’ve left the Camaro keys in reach.”

He grins. “You’ve got to have more faith, Mom. I said the dads were busy; you don’t think I know where Danno keeps his keys? And about my driving, you’ve said that every year since I turned sixteen. Am I going to have to hear it till I’m forty?”

“Sweetheart, you just turned twenty-one. You’re lucky I don’t try to pin diapers on you when I see you.”

Seth makes a choking sound similar to Steve’s embarrassed sound and she laughs. “You’re so much like your father it’s scary.”

Seth lifts her bags and stows them in the trunk and opens her door for her. “That’s funny. Dad says I’m like a taller version of Danno.”

She can see that, too, in the way Seth walks, in the way his hands move at a hundred miles an hour when he talks. Her son is a wonderful man; she knows Steve and Danny make better parents than most traditional parents and she’s happy for the billionth time that she carried Steve’s child for the two of them. “I think you’re a nice combination of both of them.”

He laughs. The drive to the McGarrett compound takes the about twenty minutes and they catch up on the way; Cat hears about Seth’s studies in community college and his life in his dorm and the girl he may or may not be interested in. “Dad and Danno want to meet her but I’m not sure we’re really to that stage yet,” he confides. “I mean, I love them, don’t get me wrong, but Danno turns into a pod person when he meets my friends. Bad enough he’s a cop and a captain at HPD, but when he walks into the living room and gives my friends the shakedown? I mean, Mom! You know I _had_ to move to the dorm to ever have a life, right?”

Cat bites her lip and gives him a half-smile. “He was worse when he was younger,” she admits. “He wasn’t the uptight police officer he is now, honey, he was kind of a wild guy. Thankfully Jack cared enough to dig into Danny’s life as Danny digs into yours. The main thing is that Danny knows what it’s like to be young and reckless. And he loves you or he wouldn’t get so crazy with worry about what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with.”

Seth rolls his eyes. “Yeah, but the really bad part is that most of my friends are taller than he is, which makes him puff up even more, and Dad keeps telling him that one day he’s going to put lifts in Danno’s shoes out of spite. That’s caused a few epic arguments, let me tell you…”

Cat loses it, laughs hysterically until they pull up into the driveway. She wipes her eyes to take in the ‘compound’ as Steve jokingly calls it – two houses side by side at the end of the cul-du-sac, Steve and Danny’s on the left and Jack and Vivian’s directly next door. It’s a testament to the McGarrett’s, as to how much they influenced their son, that when Steve and Danny got enough money together they bought the house next door. 

“Are you coming in or are you just gonna sit there?”

She blinks, realizes Seth’s already out of the car and opening the trunk. “Hey, this is the face of fatigue,” she says. Then she adds, “I had to travel a long way to get here. But see, this is what’s so great about having a child. You get to carry the majority of my bags.”

With that, she opens the car door and grabs for her duffel, heading up the front walk to Steve and Danny’s. Seth digs his house keys out of his pants pocket, opens the door just in time to catch the tail end of one of Danny’s epic rants, “… and I know the State of Hawaii finds you qualified to teach physics, Steven, but I swear to God it doesn’t give you the right to _make homemade explosives in the garage_!”

“They’re not explosives, they’re fireworks,” Steve’s voice floats back, all relaxed and easy as though Danny’s not two seconds away from a meltdown. “And it was supposed to be a surprise, I asked you not to go out there.”

“A surprise? What a wonderful surprise! I would’ve been surprised just as much had the garage blown up in the middle of the night, huh? Maybe burned down half the house, maybe burned down part of Mom and Dad’s too, right, because they live _an unsafe distance from a maniac_ , I swear sometimes you’re a goddamn menace to society, why do I even suffer through this? Why? Was I so bad as a child? Am I being punished? What is it, huh? What? What?”

Cat makes it into the living room to take in the tableau; Danny’s by the island in the kitchen, arms waving and face scarlet; Steve’s leaning against the fridge, grinning helplessly at his shorter husband. Vivian, Chris, Mary and Grace sit on the couch watching. “Who’s winning?” Cat asks, laughing.

Grace holds up a martini glass with some sort of pink concoction in it. “I think Danny wins for volume and Steve wins for not giving a shit,” she says. “You look thirsty, sailor. You want a cocktail?”

“That’s the best offer I’ve heard all day,” Cat replies. She drops onto the couch next to Vivian. The two women embrace, and Cat groans. “I’ve been on a plane for thirteen hours,” she bemoans. “Only to come to Hawaii to find Danny and Steve arguing like they did in high school. Tell me there’s popcorn, at least, so I can watch the drama?”

“Mock all you want, but do you know what the brilliant father of your child did? Did you know he was mixing gunpowder in the garage to watch things explode? Did you? Huh?”

“Fireworks! You need gunpowder to make fireworks. You know, for celebration purposes? The beach is the perfect place to light up the sky, you know…”

“The sky lights up because things explode – hence the gunpowder! You are a reckless lunatic! I am a police captain, Steven, I should… I should _arrest you_ , damn it!”

“Hence?”

“Yes, hence. Hence! Do not make fun of my Word-A-Day calendar.”

“I bought you that calendar,” Steve says. He smirks and holds out his wrists. “Go ahead, officer. Cuff me. Take me away and do to me what you see fit.”

“Okay, whoa,” Chris says, waving his Longboard bottle around precariously; Grace snatches it out of his hand so he doesn’t spill it on the couch. “Save the kinky stuff for your own time, guys, not with an audience. I have to sleep at night and you don’t want to scar your siblings and mother and son, right?”

Neither one of them answers; finally, Steve pushes himself away from the fridge, gets into Danny’s space and kisses the frown off his face. “I’ve got my Ph. D for a reason, Danno. The garage is perfectly safe. So calm down before you give yourself a stroke, all right?”

“You teach high school physics,” Danny tries, weakly, causing Steve to laugh. “And okay, okay, you consult with Halliburton as a chemical engineer. But it still doesn’t mean you should be playing with gunpowder in the garage. It’s not worth it, babe.”

“Tomorrow night, when we’re sitting on the beach with all our friends and family, and you’re leaning back against me watching the show, you remember you said that.”

Cat loves watching the way Danny goes limp in Steve’s embrace, the bluster disappearing into something mushy. “While I’m leaning back against you, huh? You got some sort of plan for us?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, touching the place right above his heart. “I got your spot reserved for you already. It comes complete with two arms wrapped around you and as many kisses as you can handle. So you think you can just relax and enjoy it?”

Danny leans his forehead against Steve’s chest, sighing. “Well, since it’s reserved for me… but make me a promise. No more crazy science experiments in the garage, huh? You goof, if you blew yourself up, I’d have no reason to go on living.”

The honest admission has Steve’s shoulders tense and Cat notices him hug Danny a little tighter. “I’m sorry, Danno. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I really just wanted to surprise you.”

“I worry ‘cause I love you,” Danny mutters. 

The two men stay wrapped up in each other a moment more until Seth clears his throat. “Should I put Mom in my old room?” he asks, breaking the tenderness of the moment.

“Yeah, kiddo, that’s a great idea,” Danny says. He scrubs at his face with one hand, steps out of Steve’s embrace and moves into the living room. The taller man trails behind him. “Cathy, swear to God you get prettier every time I see you.”

“Ditto,” she says, and Danny rolls his eyes. “Lookin’ good blondie.”

Except the blonde hairs are a lot more gray, she notices, and tries not to smile because she knows how much Danny loves his hair and how freaked out he is about his upcoming birthday. She can’t imagine what he’ll do in five years when he and Steve hit the big 5-0, but whatever happens, she knows that they’re going to be doing it together. And somehow, it’ll work out all right.

FIN


End file.
